----中文待译----
401. And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood. That this signifies that all good of love was separated, and thence that all truth of faith was falsified, is plain from the signification of the sun, as denoting, in the highest sense, the Lord as to Divine love, and thence with man the good of love to the Lord from the Lord, of which we shall speak presently; from the signification of black as sackcloth of hair, as denoting separated; black being said of darkness, thus of what does not appear from any light. It is said, "as sackcloth of hair," because the Sensual of man is meant, which is the lowest part of the natural, and, consequently, around the interiors, in which it induces darkness. There are two minds in man, (a spiritual and a natural; the spiritual mind thinks and perceives from the light [luce] of heaven, but the natural mind thinks and perceives from the light [luce] of the world; from the latter, man has a light [lumen], which is called natural light [lumen]. It is the latter mind that is called the natural man, but the former is called the spiritual man. Because the natural mind is below or outside the spiritual mind, it is, consequently, also around it, for it encloses it on every side, therefore, it is called sackcloth of hair; for when the spiritual mind, which is the higher and more interior mind, is shut, then the natural mind, which is lower and more exterior, is in darkness as to all things of heaven and the church, for all the light possessed by the natural mind, and constituting the intelligence thereof, is from the light of his spiritual mind, which light is the light of heaven. The Sensual, which is the ultimate of the Natural, appears also as hairy in the light of heaven; hence it is that hair signifies the ultimate of the natural man, which is his Sensual (see n. 3301, 5247, 5569-5573).
[2] These things are mentioned in order that it may be known why it is said that the sun became black as sackcloth of hair; from the signification of the moon, as denoting spiritual truth, which is called the truth of faith, concerning which we shall treat presently; and from the signification of its becoming as blood, as denoting that truth was falsified; for blood, in the genuine sense, signifies Divine truth, and, in the opposite, violence offered to it, thus Divine truth falsified (that blood in the Word signifies these things, see above, n. 329); hence it is evident what the moon becoming as blood signifies. The reason why the sun signifies the Lord as to Divine love, and thence with man the good of love to the Lord from the Lord, and that the moon signifies spiritual truth, is, that the Lord in the heaven where the celestial angels are, appears as a Sun, and in the heaven where the spiritual angels are, as a moon. His appearance as a Sun is from His Divine love; for the Divine love appears as fire, whence the angels in the heavens have their heat; consequently, by celestial and spiritual fire, in the Word, is meant love. The Lord's appearance as a moon is from the light of that sun, for the moon derives her light (lumen) from that sun, and the light (lux) in heaven is Divine truth, consequently, by light in the Word is signified Divine truth. But concerning the sun and moon in the heavens, and concerning the heat and light thence, see what is shown in the work, Heaven and Hell 116-125, 126-140.
[3] That by sun in the Word is signified the Lord as to Divine love, and with man the good of love to the Lord, and by moon the Lord as to Divine truth spiritual, is plain from the following passages. In Matthew:
When Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John, "his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment became as the light" (63).
[4] Similarly, when the Lord was seen by John as an angel, it is written,
"And I saw a strong angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud; and a rainbow was around his head, and his face was as the sun" (Arcana Coelestia 1925, 2821, 3039, 4085, 6280, 8192; that on this account angels in the Word are called gods, n. 4295, 4402, 7268, 7873, 8301, 8192.
[5] Hence when the church was represented as a woman, the sun then appeared round about her; concerning which it is thus written in the Apocalypse:
"A great wonder was seen in heaven; a woman encompassed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars" (Arcana Coelestia 252, 253, 749, 770.) And because the church is from the Lord, therefore, she was seen encompassed with the sun. What is signified by the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars, will also be shown in that explanation.
[6] Hence it is said by David:
"The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, a morning without clouds, by clear shining after rain" (6426, 8581, 10580; and that light denotes the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord as a Sun, thus from His Divine love, in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 126-140.)
[7] Similarly it is said, in the book of Judges, respecting those who love Jehovah:
"Let them that love him be as the sun arising in his might" (204.
[8] In David:
"His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in the clouds" (205). By his seed which shall endure for ever, is signified the Divine truth, and those also are signified, who receive it. By his throne which [shall endure] as the sun before Me, are signified His heaven and church, which are in celestial good, which is the good of love. By the throne which shall be established for ever as the moon, is signified heaven and the church, which are in spiritual good, which is Divine truth. By a faithful witness in the clouds, is signified the Word in the sense of the letter, which is called a witness because it testifies, the clouds denoting the sense of the letter of the Word.
[9] In the same:
"They shall fear thee with the sun, and before the moon, a generation of generations. In his day shall the just flourish; and much peace until the moon is not. His name shall endure for ever, before the sun shall the name of the Son be held: and all nations shall be blest in him" (Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 21). This, therefore, is what is signified by "until the moon is not," namely, with those who are meant by the just, in whom there is much peace. But, in the highest sense, by those words are meant the Lord as to His Divine Human, that this shall become the Divine good of the Divine love, therefore it is also added, "before the sun shall the name of the Son be held." By the Son is meant the Lord's Divine Human; and because by the nations are meant all those who are in good, or who receive the good of love from the Lord, it is therefore said, "and all nations shall be blessed in Him." That by nations are signified those who are in good, and by peoples those who are in truths, may be seen above, n. 331.
[10] In Isaiah:
"There shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every lofty hill, brooks and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers shall fall. And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days" (Last Judgment 56, 58). That it shall then be granted to those who are in love to the Lord and in charity towards the neighbour, to understand truths, is signified by, "There shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every lofty hill, brooks and streams of waters." Those who are upon a high mountain, are those who are in the good of love to the Lord, a high mountain signifying that good; those who are upon a lofty hill, are those who are in the good of charity towards the neighbour, a hill signifying that good, brooks and streams of waters signifying intelligence from truths. That then there shall be truth in the Lord's spiritual kingdom, as there was formerly truth in the celestial kingdom, and that then the truth in the celestial kingdom shall become the good of love, is meant by, "The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days"; for by light is meant the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord; by the light of the moon, the Divine truth in the spiritual kingdom, and by the light of the sun, the Divine truth in the celestial kingdom; by sevenfold is signified full and perfect, and truth is then full and perfect when it becomes good, or is good in form. It is evident that the sun and moon in the earths are not meant, but the sun and moon in the heavens. It should be known, that when the Last Judgment takes place, the Lord appears in the heavens in much greater effulgence and splendour than at other times, and this because the angels there must then be more powerfully defended; for lower things, with which the exteriors of the angels have communication, are in a state of disturbance. This is why, when the Last Judgment is here treated of, it is said, "The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days"; and therefore it is also said that there shall then be brooks and streams of waters upon every high mountain, and upon every lofty hill, by which [is signified] abundance of intelligence with those who are upon the higher mountains and higher hills, for the lower mountains and hills are those upon which judgment takes place. (That the Lord appears to those who are in His celestial kingdom as a Sun, and to those who are in His spiritual kingdom as a moon, may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 116-127; and that the light from them is the Divine truth, n. 127-140.)
[11] In the same:
"Thy sun shall no more go down, and thy moon shall not withdraw itself: for Jehovah shall be for a light of eternity unto thee, and the days of thy mourning shall be fulfilled" (60:20).
The Lord is here treated of, and the new heaven and the new earth, that is, the church to be established by Him. That the good of love to the Lord and the good of charity towards the neighbour should not perish with those who are in that church, is meant by, "Thy sun shall no more go down, and thy moon shall not withdraw itself"; for, to those who are in the good of love to Him, the Lord appears as a Sun, and to those who are in truths from the good of charity towards the neighbour, as a moon; hence by thy sun is signified the good of love to the Lord, and by thy moon the good of charity, which, in its essence, is truth from good. That they shall continue to eternity in truths from the good of love, and in truths from the good of charity, is meant by, "Jehovah shall be for a light of eternity unto thee, and the days of thy mourning shall be fulfilled." A light of eternity is said of those who are in the good of love to the Lord, and the fulfilling of the days of mourning, of those who are in the good of charity towards the neighbour, or in truths from good; for mourning, with those who belonged to the ancient churches, represented grief on account of the loss or destruction of truth and good; that they shall be fulfilled, signifies that they shall be ended, and so that they shall be in truths from good. From these things it is evident what is signified by the sun becoming as sackcloth of hair, and the moon becoming as blood, namely, that the good of love to the Lord is separated, and, consequently, truth is falsified.
[12] Things almost similar are signified in the following passages. In Isaiah:
"Behold, the day of Jehovah cometh, cruel with indignation and the wrath of anger, to lay the land waste; and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of the heavens and the constellations thereof shine not with their light; the sun shall be darkened in his rising, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. I will visit their wickedness upon the world, and upon the impious their iniquity" (13:9-11).
By the day of Jehovah, cruel with indignation and the wrath of anger, is signified the day of the Last Judgment; by the stars of the heavens and the constellations thereof not shining with their light, the sun being darkened in his rising, and the moon not making her light to shine, is signified, that the knowledges (cognitions) of good and truth have perished, also the good of love to the Lord, and the good of charity towards the neighbour, and consequently, the truth which is called the truth of faith; for by stars are signified the knowledges of good; by constellations, the knowledges of truth; by the sun, the good of love to the Lord; and by the moon, the good of charity towards the neighbour, which, in its essence, is truth from good, and is called the truth of faith. The sun is said to be darkened in his rising, and the moon not to make her light to shine; not that the sun and moon in the angelic heavens are darkened, for the sun there is always in its effulgence, and the moon in its splendour; but before those who were in evils and the falsities thence, goods and truths are thus [obscured]; therefore it is thus said according to the appearance, for those who are in evils and the falsities thence, turn themselves away from the good of love and charity, consequently, from the Lord, and then they will nothing but evil, and think nothing but falsity, and those who will and think nothing else, see nothing but thick darkness and darkness (caliginem et tenebras) in the things that pertain to heaven and the church. Because such persons are meant, with whom the sun is darkened and the moon does not make her light to shine, therefore it is said, "to lay the land waste, and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it," and afterwards, "I will visit their wickedness upon the world, and their iniquity upon the impious." By the land and the world is signified the church; by laying it waste, is signified that there is no longer any good; and by visiting upon the world their wickedness, and upon the impious their iniquity, is signified the Last Judgment.
[13] In Ezekiel:
"When I shall extinguish thee, I will cover the heavens, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. All the luminaries of light in the heavens will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land" (32:7, 8).
These things are said concerning Pharaoh king of Egypt, by whom the natural man separate from the spiritual is there signified. This, when separated, is entirely in thick darkness and in darkness as to all things of heaven and the church, and as far as it is separated it denies them; for the natural man sees nothing in such things from itself, but through the spiritual man from the Lord, for the natural man is in the heat and light of the world, whereas the spiritual is only in the heat and light of heaven. From these things it is evident what is meant by the details here, namely, that by, "When I shall extinguish thee, I will cover the heavens," are signified the interiors, which are in the light of heaven; by, "I will make the stars thereof dark," are signified the knowledges of good and truth; by, "I will cover the sun with a cloud," is signified the good of love to the Lord; by, "the moon shall not cause her light to shine," is signified the good of charity towards the neighbour and the truth of faith thence; by, "All the luminaries of light will I make dark over thee," are signified all truths; and by, "I will set darkness upon thy land," are signified falsities.
[14] In Joel:
The day of Jehovah cometh. A day of darkness and of thick darkness, a day of cloud and obscurity. Before him the earth is moved; the sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining (2:1, 2, 10).
In the same:
"The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh" (2:31).
In the same:
"The day of Jehovah is near in the valley cut off. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their shining" (3:14, 15).
In the Evangelists:
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven" (Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24, 25).
In the Apocalypse:
"The fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; and the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise" (8:12).
And elsewhere:
"There arose a smoke out of the pit of the abyss, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke" (9:2).
That in these passages, by the sun and the moon being darkened (tenebratos) is meant that there were no longer any good and truth, is plain from what has been said above; therefore they are no further explained.
[15] Because such things are signified by the sun being darkened, therefore the sun was darkened when the Lord was upon the cross, because He was entirely rejected by the church, which was then among the Jews, and they were, consequently, in dense darkness or in falsities. Concerning this [it is] thus [written] in Luke:
"At the sixth hour darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour, for the sun was darkened" (64, 83, 195 at the end.)
[16] In Micah:
"Jehovah said against the prophets that seduce the people, Night shall be unto you, instead of a vision; and darkness shall rise upon you, instead of divination; and the sun shall set over the prophets, and the day shall grow black over them" (3:5, 6).
What these words signify in the spiritual sense, may be seen above (n. 8:9).
By these words is signified that in the church, where the Word is, from which good and truth can be known, there is nevertheless nothing but evil and falsity. To cause the sun to set, and to darken the earth, signify evil of the life, and falsity of doctrine in the church; for by the rising of the sun is signified the good of love, which is the good of life, and by the setting of the sun is signified evil of the love, which is evil of the life; and by the darkening of the earth is signified the falsity of doctrine thence, darkness signifying falsities, and the earth the church. By, at mid-day, and, in the day of light, is signified, when knowledges of good and truth may be there, because they have the Word; mid-day signifying, where there are knowledges of good, and the day of light, where there are knowledges of truth. That they are from the Word is, because the latter are said of the church where the Word is.
[17] In Habakkuk:
"The mountains were moved; the overflowing of the waters passed by. The sun and moon stood in [their] place; for light thine arrows go forth, for splendour the lightning of thy spear" (3:10, 11).
In this chapter the Lord's advent and the Last Judgment then [accomplished] by Him, are treated of. By the mountains being moved, and the overflowing of the waters passing by, is signified that those are rejected who are in the love of self and of the world, through the falsities of evil into which they are let. Mountains signify the loves of self and of the world; and the overflowing of the waters signifies immersion in the falsities thence; waters denoting falsities, and overflowing denoting immersion. That genuine truths and goods do not then appear to them, but instead thereof imaginary truths and goods, which in themselves are falsities and evils, is signified by, "for light thine arrows go forth, for splendour the lightning of [thy] spear"; arrows or lightnings (fulgura) signifying imaginary truths, which in themselves are falsities, and the lightning (fulmen) of the spear signifying imaginary goods, which in themselves are evils of falsity. For such signs appear in the spiritual world, with those who are in falsities from the loves of self and the world, when the Last Judgment takes place, and such are rejected.
[18] Because in this prophet it is said, "The sun and moon stood still in their place," it shall also be explained what is signified by the sun resting in Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of Ajalon; concerning which it is thus written in Joshua:
"Then spake Joshua to Jehovah, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, rest thou in Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun rested, and the moon stayed, until the nation was avenged upon its enemies. Is not this written in the book of the Upright (Recti)? And the sun stood in the midst of the heaven, neither hasted to go down about a whole day" (10:12, 13).
That it is said that the sun stood in Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of Ajalon, signified that the church was entirely vastated as to all good and truth; for [a battle] was then fought against the king of Jerusalem and the kings of the Amorites; and by the king of Jerusalem is signified the truth of the church entirely vastated by falsities, and by the kings of the Amorites is signified the good of the church vastated by evils; therefore those kings were smitten with hailstones, by which were signified the dire falsities of evil. It is said that the sun rested and the moon stayed in [their] place, namely, before the sons of Israel, that they might see their enemies; but this is prophetical, although it is historically related, as is evident from the fact of its being said, "Is not this written in the book of the Upright?" which was a prophetical book from which they were taken; therefore from the same book it is also said, "Until the nation was avenged upon its enemies," and not, "Until the sons of Israel were avenged upon their enemies," nation being used prophetically. The same is also evident from this, that this miracle, if it had thus taken place, would have inverted the whole order of the world; the rest of the miracles in the Word would not do this. In order, therefore, that it might be known that this was said prophetically, it is added, "Is not this written in the book of the Upright? But nevertheless, that there was a light given to them from heaven, as the light of the sun in Gibeon, and as the light of the moon in the valley of Ajalon, is not to be doubted.
[19] In Jeremiah:
"She that hath borne seven shall languish; she shall breathe out her soul; her sun shall set while it is yet day; it shall be ashamed and blush; and the remains of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies" (257). By, "her sun shall set while it is yet day," is signified that the good of the church would perish, although it possessed the Word, and by it might have been in light. "It shall be ashamed and blush" - that is, the sun - signifies because good and truth are not received, but evil and falsity, as is also evident from the passage immediately following from Isaiah. "The remains of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies," signifies that all the remaining good and truth shall perish by falsity from evil, remains denoting all that is left; to be delivered to the sword denoting, to perish by falsities; [and] enemies denoting evils.
[20] In Isaiah:
"Jehovah will visit upon the host of the height in the height, and upon the kings of the earth upon the earth. Then the moon shall blush, and the sun be ashamed" (24:21, 23).
To visit signifies to destroy, because visitation precedes judgment, when those who are in evils and the falsities thence are destroyed. By the host of the height in the height are signified all the evils from the love of self. By the host are signified all evils; by the kings of the earth, falsities of every kind; and by the earth, the church. It is hence evident what is signified by, "Jehovah will visit upon the host of the height in the height, and upon the kings of the earth upon the earth." The reason why it is said, upon the host of the height in the height, is, that those who are in the love of self, in the spiritual world seek high places. By, "Then the moon shall blush, and the sun be ashamed," is signified that there is no longer any reception of Divine truth and Divine good, the moon and the sun signifying the truth of faith and the good of love, which are said to blush and be ashamed when they are no longer received, but instead thereof falsity and evil.
[21] In David:
"Jehovah, who made the heavens by his intelligence, hath stretched out the earth upon the waters. He hath made great luminaries; the sun to rule by day; the moon and stars to rule by night. He hath smitten Egypt in their first-born; and hath brought out Israel from their midst" (Psalms 136:5-11).
He who knows nothing of the spiritual sense of the Word, must hold that these words involve nothing but what appears in the sense of the letter; but yet each particular involves such things as relate to angelic wisdom, these being all things Divine, celestial, and spiritual. The new creation or regeneration of the men of the church, of whom the church [is formed] is thereby described. By the heavens which [Jehovah] hath made by His intelligence, are signified the internal things of the men of the church, which, in one expression, are called the spiritual man, where intelligence resides, and where their heaven is. By the earth which He hath stretched out upon the waters, is signified the external of the church, which, in one expression, is called the natural man. It is here said to be stretched out upon the waters, because therein are the truths by which he is regenerated, waters denoting truths. By the great luminaries, the sun, the moon, and the stars, are signified the good of love, the truth from that good, and the knowledges of good and truth - by the sun, the good of love; by the moon, the truth from that good; and by the stars, the knowledges (cognitions) of good and truth. The reason why it is said that the sun was made to rule by day, is that the day signifies the light of the spiritual man, for it has enlightenment and perception from the good of love; and the reason why it is said that the moon and the stars were made to rule by night, is that the night signifies the light of the natural man, for the light of this is to the light of the spiritual man, comparatively as the light of the night from the moon and the stars, to the light of the day from the sun. Because the regeneration of the men of the church is treated of, it also follows, "He hath smitten Egypt in their first-born; and brought out Israel from their midst," for by Egypt is signified the natural man, such as he is from birth, namely, in absolute falsities from evil; the first-born thereof denote primary things, and the destruction of these while man is being regenerated, is meant by, "He hath smitten Egypt in their first-born." By Israel is signified the spiritual man, and by bringing him out from their midst, is signified to open, and thus to regenerate it; for the man of the church is regenerated from the Lord by the dissipation of the falsities from evils, in the natural man, and by the opening of the spiritual man, which is effected from the Lord by means of spiritual light, which is Divine truth.
[22] Similar things are signified by these words in Genesis:
"God made two great luminaries; the great luminary to rule by day, and the lesser luminary to rule by night, and the stars" (1:16).
The subject treated of in this chapter is the new creation or the regeneration of the men of whom the Most Ancient Church [was constituted], which is described in the sense of the letter, by the creation of heaven and earth. Similar things also are signified by these words in Jeremiah:
"Thus said the Lord Jehovih, who giveth the sun for the light of the day, and the ordinances of the moon and the stars for the light of the night" (31:35).
By the ordinances of the moon and the stars, are signified all things that are effected in the natural man according to the laws of order.
[23] In David:
"Praise ye Jehovah, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts; praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all ye stars of light; praise him, ye heaven of heavens" ([Ps.] 148:1-4).
By praising Jehovah is signified to worship Him. By the angels are signified those who are in Divine truths from the good of love, for such are angels. By all the hosts are signified goods and truths in their whole compass. By the sun and moon are signified the good of love and the truth from that good. By the stars of light are signified the knowledges of truth from good. By the heavens of heavens are signified goods and truths both internal and external. Because man worships the Lord from those things that he has from the Lord, thus from the goods and truths which he has, and because man also is a man from them, it is therefore said to them, namely, to the sun, moon, and stars, by which are signified goods and truths, that they shall praise, that is, worship Jehovah. Who does not know that the sun, moon, and stars do not praise, that is, worship?
[24] In Moses:
Of Joseph he said, blessed of Jehovah be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, for the deep that also lieth beneath, and for the precious things of the produce of the sun, and for the precious things brought forth of the months" (Heaven and Hell 20-28.)
[25] In Isaiah:
"I will make thy suns a ruby, and thy gates into stones of carbuncle, and all thy border into stones of desire" (54:12).
These things are said of the Gentiles outside the church, from whom a new church was to be established by the Lord. By, "I will make thy suns a ruby," is signified, that goods [shall be] brilliant from the fire of love, suns there denoting the goods of love, and the ruby denoting a brilliance as from fire. By, "I will make thy gates into stones of carbuncle," is signified, that truths [shall be] resplendent from good, gates denoting the introductory truths, specifically the doctrinals that are from good. For all genuine truths of doctrine proceed from good, and are goods; and carbuncle stones signify their brightness from good, all precious stones signifying truths from good, [and] the colour, brightness, and fire thereof, indicating the quality of truth from good. By, "I will make all their border into stones of desire," is signified, that the scientific truths which pertain to the natural man, shall be pleasant and delightful from good; for by a border is meant the same as by a foundation, and this is the natural man, because in the things there the goods and truths of the spiritual man are terminated, and stones of desire denote truths pleasant and delightful from good. By these are meant the goods and truths of the Word which those have who belong to the New Church, [and] which will be of such a nature. That the sun signifies the good of love, is also evident from the fact of their being called suns in the plural number.
[26] In Job:
"If I rejoiced that my wealth was great, and that my hand had found much; if I beheld the light that it shone, and the moon that it walked clearly; and my heart hath secretly misled itself, and my hand hath kissed my mouth" (31:25-28).
By these words in the spiritual sense is meant that he had not acquired to himself intelligence from the proprium, and that he had taken no merit to himself, nor gloried in it; for, "If I rejoiced that my wealth was great, and that my hand had found much," signifies, had he gloried that he had intelligence, and that he had acquired it to himself from the proprium? wealth denoting the knowledges of good and truth, by which intelligence [is attained]; and "that my hand had found much," denoting what he acquired from the proprium. "If I beheld the light that it shone, and the moon that it walked clearly," signifies the spiritual truths that constitute intelligence; the sun and the moon signifying spiritual truths. "And my heart hath secretly misled itself, and my hand hath kissed my mouth," signifies, have I thence gloried inwardly? and have I claimed them to myself?
[27] In Matthew:
"That ye may be the sons of your Father which is in the heavens; for he maketh his sun to arise upon the evil and the good, and sendeth rain upon the just and the unjust" (5:45).
Charity towards the neighbour is here treated of, as is evident from what precedes and follows here, and specifically concerning the Jews, who accounted the Gentiles as enemies, and their own [countrymen] as friends. That they ought to love the former just as with the latter, is illustrated by the Lord by this comparison. But because all comparisons in the Word are from correspondences, and thence signify, as do other things that are not said comparatively, therefore this comparison also [corresponds]; and by, the Father in the heavens maketh His sun to rise upon the evil and the good, and sendeth rain upon the just and the unjust, is signified that the Lord flows in from heaven with the Divine good of love and with the Divine truth, equally with those who are outside the Jewish Church, as with those who are within it, the sun also there signifying the good of love, and the rain the Divine truth. The evil and the unjust signify, in the internal sense, those who belonged to the Jewish Church, because they did not receive; and the good and the just signify those who were outside that church, and did receive. In general, all the evil and good, and the just and unjust, are those who are here meant, for the Lord flows in with good and truth equally with all, but all do not equally receive.
[28] Because the sun signifies the Lord as to Divine love, therefore He is called the Sun of justice in Malachi ( 3:20); and a Sun and Shield in David (Heaven and Hell 141, 148-150); and that by the north is meant truth in obscurity, in the same chapter (n. 148-150), for there the four quarters in the spiritual world are treated of.) By the setting of the sun is also signified the state of the church when it is in ignorance, which is its first state; and by the rising of the sun is signified its state when it is in light. By the setting of the sun is also signified the state of the church when it is in evils and the falsities thence; and by the rising of the sun, when it is in goods and the truths thence.
[29] The first state of the church, when it is still in ignorance, is signified by the commencement of the passover in the evening when the sun was set; according to these words of Moses:
"Thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the stated time of thy going forth out of Egypt" (7093, 7867, 9286-9295, 10655). And because the first state of regeneration is a state of ignorance, therefore that feast commenced in the evening, when the sun was going down. That state is also signified by the departure of the sons of Israel from Egypt; for in Egypt they were in a servile state, and thence in a state of ignorance, therefore it is said, "at the stated time of the going forth out of Egypt."
[30] The last state of the church, which is when the church is in falsities and evils, which is its last state, is signified by the going down of the sun, in Moses:
"When the sun was about to go down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a terror and great darkness fell upon him. At length, when the sun had set, and it was dark, behold, a furnace of smoke, and a torch of fire that passed through between those pieces" (Genesis 15:12, 17).
These things are said of the posterity of Abram from Jacob, or of the Israelitish and Jewish nation; and by, "When the sun was about to go down," and by, "At length, when the sun was set," is signified the last state of the church in that nation, that they were in absolute falsities and evils. The great darkness and the furnace of smoke, signify falsities from evil; and the torch of fire signifies the dire love of self, from which their evils and falsities [proceeded].
[31] As most things in the Word also have an opposite sense, so also have the sun and moon, and, in that sense, the sun signifies the love of self, and the moon, the falsities thence. The reason why such things are signified by the sun and moon is, that those who are in a natural, and not in a spiritual idea, do not think beyond nature, and hence when they see that from those two luminaries, or from their light and heat, all things arise upon the earth, and, as it were, live, they suppose that they are the rulers of the universe; they do not elevate their thoughts higher. This is the case with all those who are in the love of self, and thence in evils and falsities, for such are merely natural and sensual men, and the merely natural and sensual man does not think beyond nature, for what he does not see and touch, he believes to be nothing. The ancients, with whom all things of the church consisted of representatives of spiritual things in natural, and with whom, therefore, the sun signified the Lord as to Divine good, and the moon Him as to Divine truth, and who therefore in worship turned their faces to the rising of the sun-those among, them who were in the love of self, and thence were merely natural and sensual, began to worship, as their chief gods, the sun and the moon which they saw with their eyes. And because they alone did this, or persuaded others who were in the love of self, and thence in evils and falsities, to do it, therefore, by the sun is signified the love of self, and by the moon the falsity thence. This is still more evident from those spirits in the other life who had been of such a quality in the world; these avert the face from the Lord, and turn it to certain dark objects (caliginosum et tenebricosum) there, which are in place of the sun and moon of the world, from opposition to the sun and moon of the angelic heaven (concerning which more may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 122, 123). By such persons was the worship of the sun and moon instituted in ancient times, when all Divine worship was representative. But at this day, representatives having ceased, the worship of the sun and moon does not exist in the Christian world, but instead thereof the worship of self, which exists with those in whom the love of ruling predominates. Hence it is now clear what is signified by the sun and moon in the opposite sense.
[32] That in ancient times they worshipped the sun and moon, is manifest from the Gentiles, who dedicated shrines to them, of which [there are records] in many histories; that the Egyptians also, as well as the Jews and Israelites, [worshipped the sun and moon] is plain from the Word. That the Egyptians [did so may be seen] in Jeremiah:
The king of Babylon "shall come, and shall smite the land of Egypt, and shall break in pieces the statues of the house of the sun, in the land of Egypt" (43:11, 13).
That the Jews and Israelites also [did so, may be seen] in Ezekiel:
I beheld "their faces towards the east; and they bowed themselves towards the rising of the sun" (8:16).
The abominations of Jerusalem are here treated of. In the second book of Kings:
Josiah the king "put down the idolatrous priests, who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, the moon, and to the stars, and to all the host of the heavens. He furthermore took away the horses that the kings of Judah had set up to the sun, at the entering in of the house of Jehovah, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire" (23:5, 11).
In Jeremiah:
"They shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of his princes, and the bones of his priests, and the bones of his prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and they shall spread them to the sun and the moon and all the host of the heavens, whom they have loved, and whom they have served" (8:1, 2).
And also 44:17-19, 25; Deuteronomy 4:19; 17:3, 5).
[33] Because by Moab in the Word are signified those who are in the life of falsity from the love of self; and as by their worship [is signified] the worship of self, therefore, when the Israelitish people approached the worship of the Moabitish people, it was commanded that the heads of the people should be hung up before the sun; concerning which circumstance it is thus written in Moses:
"The daughters of Moab called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods; and the people did eat, and bowed themselves down unto their gods. Especially did Israel join himself unto Baalpeor; wherefore Jehovah said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the sun" (2468, 8315.
[34] Hence also it is clear that the sun of the world signifies the love of self. Because the love of self lets man into his proprium, and keeps him therein, for man's proprium looks to himself continually, and is nothing but evil, and from evil every falsity exists, therefore by the heat of the sun is signified adulterated truth, which in its essence is the falsity of evil. This is signified by the heat of the sun in the following passages. In the Apocalypse
"The fourth angel poured out his vial into the sun; and it was given unto him to scorch men with fire" (16:8).
And elsewhere:
"They shall hunger no more, neither shall the sun light upon them, nor any heat" (7:16).
In David:
"The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. Jehovah shall guard thee from all evil; he shall guard thy soul" (Psalms 121:6, 7).
By the sun is here meant the love of self, and by the moon the falsity thence; because all evil is from that love, and from that [all] falsity, therefore it is said, "Jehovah shall guard thee from all evil, and he shall guard thy soul," the soul signifying the life of truth.
[35] In Matthew:
"Other seeds fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth; and when the sun was risen they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away" (13:5, 6; Mark 4:5, 6).
By the seeds are signified truths from the Word, or those which man receives from the Lord, for it is afterwards said, that it is the Son of Man that soweth. By stony places is signified an historical faith, which is the faith of another in man, for he believes it to be true, not because he sees it in himself, but because another, in whom he trusts, has said it. By ground is signified spiritual good, because this receives truths, as ground does seeds. By the sun being risen is signified the love of self; and by the seed being scorched and withering away, are signified to adulterate and to perish. Hence it is clear what is signified by these words of the Lord in a series, namely, that the truths implanted from infancy from the Word or from preaching, when man begins to think from himself, are adulterated and perish by lusts from the love of self. All things, indeed, in the Word, are truths, but they are adulterated by the ideas of the thought concerning them, and their application, whence truths, with such, are not truths except as to the utterance of them only. The reason why this is so, is that all the life of truth is from spiritual good, and spiritual good resides in the higher or interior mind, which is called the spiritual mind. This mind cannot be opened with those who are in the love of self, for they look to themselves in everything. If they raise their eyes to heaven, still the thought of their spirit dwells on self, and, consequently, from the fire of its own glory, it excites things sensual, external, and corporeal, which have been taught from childhood to imitate such affections as pertain to the spiritual man.
[36] It is written in Jonah that the gourd, which came up over him, withered away, and that the sun smote his head so that he fell sick; these words, because they are not intelligible without the internal sense, shall be explained in a few words. Of these things, it is thus written in Jonah:
"Jehovah prepared a gourd, which came up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to turn away his evil, and Jonah rejoiced over the gourd. And God prepared a worm, when the morning rose the next day, which smote the gourd that it withered. It further came to pass, when the sun arose, that God prepared a drying east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, and he was sick, whence he wished that his soul might die. Then God said to Jonah, Is it just for thee to be angry over the gourd? He said, It is just for me to be angry, even unto death. Jehovah said, Thou hast had pity upon the gourd, for which thou hast not laboured; thou hast not done what is perfect, because thou wast made a son of night, and a son of night perisheth; shall not I have pity upon Nineveh, a great city, in which are more than twelve thousand of men?" (Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 248.)
[37] The reason that the love of self is signified here and in the preceding passages, is, that by the sun, in the genuine spiritual sense, is signified love to the Lord, and to this love the love of self is opposed. The Lord's Divine love, also, which is present with every one, is turned into the love of self with the evil. For everything that flows into a recipient subject is changed into what agrees with its own nature; as the pure heat of the sun is turned into an offensive smell in subjects of such a nature and the pure light of the sun, into hideous colours in objects of such reception; hence it is that by the sun which beat upon the head of Jonah, is signified the love of self, in himself. And also in Matthew, by the risen sun, by which the seeds upon the stony places were scorched.
[38] In the Apocalypse:
"The city" New Jerusalem "has no need of the sun and moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the lamp thereof" (21:23; 22:5).
By the sun here, of which the city New Jerusalem will have no need, is signified natural love, which, viewed in itself, is the love of self and the world; and by the moon is signified natural light, for natural light viewed in itself is from natural love, and the quality of the light is according to the quality of the love; but spiritual love and spiritual light are signified by, the glory of God shall lighten it, and the Lamb is the lamp thereof.
[39] That such is the meaning of these words, is quite clear from these words in Isaiah:
"The sun shall be no more a light to thee by day; and in shining the moon shall not give light to thee; but Jehovah shall be unto thee for a light of eternity, and thy God for thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down, and thy moon shall not withdraw itself; for Jehovah shall be unto thee for a light of eternity, and the days of thy mourning shall be fulfilled" (Isaiah 60:19, 20).
Similar things are signified by the sun and moon in a former passage adduced above in the Apocalypse, namely, by the sun [is signified] merely natural love, and by the moon, the natural light thence. But by the sun and the moon in the last passage are meant the sun and moon of the angelic heaven, and by that sun is signified the Lord's Divine love, and by the moon the Divine truth, as explained above. For it is first said, "The sun shall be no more a light to thee by day, and in shining the moon shall not give light to thee"; and afterwards it is said, "Thy sun shall no more go down; and thy moon shall not withdraw itself." From these things it is now clear what the sun and the moon signify in both senses.
401. And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood, signifies that all the good of love was separated, and thence all the truth of faith falsified. This is evident from the signification of "sun" as being in the highest sense the Lord in respect to Divine love, and thence with man the good of love to the Lord from the Lord (of which presently); also from the signification of "black as sackcloth of hair," as being separated; "black" is predicated of thick darkness, thus of what does not appear from any light. It is said "as sackcloth of hair," because it means the sensual of man, which is the lowest of the natural, and is thus round about the interiors, in which it induces thick darkness. Man has two minds, a spiritual and a natural; the spiritual mind thinks and perceives from the light of heaven, but the natural mind thinks and perceives from the light of the world; from the latter, man has a light that is called natural light [lumen]. This natural mind is what is called the natural man, but the spiritual mind is what is called the spiritual man. As the natural mind is below or outside of the spiritual mind it is also round about it, for it enwraps it on every side; therefore it is called "sackcloth of hair" or "hairy;" for when the spiritual mind, which is the higher and interior mind, is closed, then the natural mind, which is the lower and exterior, is in thick darkness in respect to all things of heaven and the church; for all the light that the natural mind has, and that constitutes its intelligence, is from the light of his spiritual mind, and this light is the light of heaven. The sensual, which is the ultimate of the natural, is also in the light of heaven like something hairy; from this it is that "hair" signifies the ultimate of the natural man, which is the sensual (See Arcana Co (Arcana Coelestia 3301, 5247, 5569-5573), n. 3301, 5247, 5569-5573). These things have been said that it may be known why it is that "the sun became black as sackcloth of hair."
[2] The above is evident also from the signification of the "moon" as being spiritual truth, which is called the truth of faith (of which presently); also from the signification of "became as blood," as being that truth was falsified; for "blood" in the genuine sense signifies Divine truth, and in the contrary sense, violence offered to Divine truth, thus Divine truth falsified (that this is the signification of "blood" in the Word, see above, n. 329; this makes clear what "the moon became as blood" signifies. "The sun" signifies the Lord in respect to Divine love, and thus with man the good of love to the Lord from the Lord, and "the moon" signifies spiritual truth, because the Lord in the heaven of celestial angels appears as a sun, and in the heaven of spiritual angels as a moon. His appearing as a sun is from His Divine love, for Divine love appears as a fire, from which angels in the heavens have their heat; consequently celestial and spiritual "fire" means in the Word, love. The Lord's appearing as a moon is from the light that is from that sun, for the moon derives her light [lumen] from that sun, and light in heaven is Divine truth, consequently "light" in the Word signifies Divine truth. (But of the Sun and the Moon in the Heavens, and the Heat and Light Therefrom, see what is shown in the work on Heaven and Hell (116-125, 126-140)
[3] That in the Word "sun" signifies the Lord in respect to Divine love, and with man the good of love to the Lord, and the "moon" signifies the Lord in respect to Divine truth spiritual, is evident from the following passages. In Matthew:
When Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John, His face did shine as the sun, and His garments became as light (63).
[4] Likewise when the Lord was seen by John as an angel, respecting which we read:
And I saw a strong angel coming down out of heaven, encompassed with a cloud, and a rainbow about his head, and his face was as the sun (Arcana Coelestia 1925, 2821, 3039, 4085, 6280, 8192; that this is why in the Word angels are called gods, n. 4295, 4402, 7268, 7873, 8301, 8192.)
[5] So, too, when the church was represented as a woman, the sun also then appeared around her; which is thus described in Revelation:
A great sign was seen in heaven; a woman encompassed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars (Arcana Coelestia 252, 253, 749, 770.) And because the church is from the Lord she was seen encompassed with the sun. What is signified by "the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars," will also be shown in that explanation.
[6] It is therefore said by David:
The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me, As the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, a morning without clouds, from the brightness after rain (Arcana Coelestia 6426, 8581, 10580; and that "light" is Divine truth proceeding from the Lord as a sun, thus out of His Divine love, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 126-140.)
[7] In like manner it is said of those who love Jehovah, in the book of Judges:
Let them that love Him be as the going forth of the sun in his might (Arcana Coelestia 1736, 2921, 3035, 5041, 6303, 6281, 8864, 9315, 9373, 10146). Of those who love Him it is said, "as the going forth of the sun in his might," which signifies the Lord's Divine love in them. Of such it is also said that "they shall shine as the sun," in Matthew:
The righteous shall shine as the sun in the kingdom of My 1Father (204)
[8] In David:
His seed shall be to eternity, and His throne as the sun before Me. It shall be established as the moon to eternity, and as a faithful witness in the clouds (205); "his seed which shall be to eternity" signifies Divine truth, and also those who receive it; "his throne as the sun before Me" signifies the heaven and church of the Lord, which are in celestial good, which is the good of love; "the throne established as the moon to eternity" signifies the heaven and the church that are in spiritual good, which is Divine truth; "a faithful witness in the clouds" signifies the Word in the sense of the letter, which is called "a witness" because it witnesses, "clouds" meaning the sense of the letter of the Word.
[9] In the same:
They shall fear Thee with the sun and before the moon, a generation of generations. In His days shall the righteous flourish; and much peace till the moon be no more. His name shall be to eternity; before the sun shall He have the name of Son; and all nations shall be blessed in Him (The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 21). This, therefore, is what is signified by "till the moon be no more," that is, with those who are meant by "the righteous in whom there is much peace." But in the highest sense, by these words the Lord in relation to His Divine Human, that this shall be the Divine good of the Divine love, is meant, therefore it is also added, "before the sun He shall have the name of Son," "Son" meaning the Lord's Divine Human. And as "nations" mean all who are in good, or who receive the good of love from the Lord, it is said, "and all nations shall be blessed in Him." (That "nations" signify those who are in good, and "peoples" those who are in truths, may be seen above, n. 331.)
[10] In Isaiah:
There shall be upon every high mountain and upon every lofty hill streams, rivulets of waters, in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers shall fall. And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days (The Last Judgment 56, 58). That to those who are in love to the Lord and in charity towards the neighbor it shall then be given to understand truths, is signified by "there shall be upon every high mountain and upon every lofty hill streams, rivulets of waters." Those "upon a high mountain" mean those who are in the good of love to the Lord, "high mountain" signifying that good; those "upon the lofty hill" mean those who are in the good of charity towards the neighbor, "hill" signifying that good; "streams, rivulets of water" signify intelligence from truths. That there shall then be truth in the Lord's spiritual kingdom, as before there was truth in the celestial kingdom, and that the truth in the celestial kingdom shall then become the good of love is meant by "the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days;" for "light" means Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, "the light of the moon" Divine truth in the spiritual kingdom, and "the light of the sun" Divine truth in the celestial kingdom; "sevenfold" signifies full and perfect, and truth is full and perfect when it becomes good, or good in form. It can be seen that this means, not the sun and moon on the earth, but the sun and moon in the heavens. It is to be known that when a last judgment is being effected the Lord appears in the heavens in much greater effulgence and splendor than at other times, and this because the angels there must be more powerfully defended; for lower things, with which the exteriors of the angels have communication, are then in a state of disturbance. Therefore, as the Last Judgment is here treated of, it is said, "the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days;" and therefore it is also said that "there shall be streams, rivulets of waters, upon every high mountain, and upon every lofty hill," which signifies abundant intelligence with those who are upon the higher mountains and higher hills, for on the lower mountains and hills is where the judgment then takes place. (That the Lord appears to those who are in His celestial kingdom as a sun, and to those who are in his spiritual kingdom as a moon, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 116-125; and that the light from these is Divine truth, n. 127-140)
[11] In the same:
Thy sun shall no more go down, and thy moon shall not withdraw; for Jehovah shall be unto thee for a light of eternity, and the days of thy mourning shall be fulfilled (Isaiah 60:20).
This treats of the Lord, and of the new heaven and new earth, that is, of the church to be established by Him. That to those in that church the good of love to the Lord and the good of charity towards the neighbor should not perish is meant by "thy sun shall no more go down, and thy moon shall not withdraw;" for to those who are in the good of love to the Lord He appears as a sun, and to those who are in truths from the good of charity towards the neighbor He appears as a moon; so "thy sun" signifies the good of love to the Lord, and "thy moon" the good of charity, which, in its essence, is truth from good. That they shall continue to eternity in truths from the good of love, and in truths from the good of charity is meant by "Jehovah shall be unto thee for a light of eternity, and the days of thy mourning shall be fulfilled," "the light of eternity" is predicated of those who are in the good of love to the Lord, and "fulfilling the days of mourning" of those who are in the good of charity towards the neighbor, or in truths from good; for with those who were of the ancient churches, "mourning" represented grief on account of the loss or destruction of truth and good; "fulfilled" signifies ended, thus that they shall be in truths from good. From this the signification of "the sun became as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood," can be seen, namely, that the good of love to the Lord was separated, and thus truth was falsified.
[12] Nearly the same is signified in the following passages. In Isaiah:
Behold the day of Jehovah cometh, cruel with indignation and the glow of anger, to lay the earth waste; and He shall destroy its sinners out of it. For the stars of the heavens and the constellations thereof do not shine with their light; the sun is darkened in its rising, and the moon maketh not her light to be bright. I will visit evil upon the world, and upon the wicked their iniquity (Isaiah 13:9-11).
"The day of Jehovah, cruel with indignation and the glow of anger," signifies the day of the Last Judgment; "the stars of the heavens and the constellations thereof do not shine with their light, the sun is darkened in its rising, and the moon maketh not her light to be bright," signifies that the knowledges of good and truth have perished, as well as the good of love to the Lord, and the good of charity towards the neighbor, and thence the truth that is called the truth of faith; for "stars" signify the knowledges of good, "constellations" the knowledges of truth, "the sun" the good of love to the Lord, and "the moon" the good of charity towards the neighbor, which, in its essence, is truth from good, and is called the truth of faith. The sun is said "to be darkened in its rising," and the moon "not to make her light to be bright;" not that the sun and moon in the angelic heavens are darkened, for the sun there is always in its effulgence, and the moon in its splendor; but before those who are in evils and in falsities therefrom, goods and truths are thus obscured; it is therefore according to the appearance that it is so said, for those who are in evils and in falsities therefrom turn themselves away from the good of love and charity, consequently from the Lord, and then they will nothing but evil and think nothing but falsity, and those who will and think no other, see nothing but thick darkness and darkness in such things as pertain to heaven and the church. Because such are meant by those with whom "the sun is darkened, and the moon maketh not her light to be bright," it is said, "to lay the earth waste, and He shall destroy its sinners out of it," and afterwards, "I will visit evil upon the world, and upon the wicked their iniquity," "earth" and "world" signifying the church, "laying it waste" signifying that there is no longer any good, and "visiting evil upon the world, and upon the wicked their iniquity," signifying the Last Judgment.
[13] In Ezekiel:
When I shall extinguish thee I will cover the heavens and make the stars thereof black; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not make her light to shine; all the luminaries of light in the heavens will I make black over thee, and I will give darkness upon thy land (Ezekiel 32:7-8).
This is said of Pharaoh king of Egypt, by whom is here signified the natural man separate from the spiritual; which when it is separated is wholly in thick darkness and in darkness in regard to all things of heaven and the church, and so far as it is separated denies them; for the natural man sees nothing in such things from itself, but only through the spiritual man from the Lord, since the natural man is in the heat and light of the world, while the spiritual man is in the heat and light of heaven. From this it is clear what is meant by the particulars here, namely, "When I extinguish thee I will cover the heavens" signifies the interiors, which are in the light of heaven; "I will make the stars thereof black" signifies the knowledges of good and truth; "I will cover the sun with a cloud" signifies the good of love to the Lord; "the moon shall not make her light to shine" signifies the good of charity towards the neighbor and the truth of faith therefrom; "all the luminaries of light will I make black over thee" signifies all truths; and "I will give darkness upon thy land" signifies falsities.
[14] In Joel:
The day of Jehovah cometh. A day of darkness and of thick darkness, a day of cloud and obscurity. Before Him the earth trembleth, the sun and the moon were black, and the stars withdrew their brightness (Joel 2:1-2, 10).
In the same:
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh (Joel 2:31).
In the same:
The day of Jehovah is near in the valley cut off. The sun and the moon were made black, and the stars withdrew their brightness (Joel 3:14-15).
In the Gospels:
Immediately after the affliction of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven (Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24-25).
In Revelation:
The fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; and the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for the third part of it, and the night likewise (Revelation 8:12).
In another place:
Out of the pit of the abyss there went up a smoke as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun was darkened and the air by the smoke (Revelation 9:2).
It is clear from what has been said above, that in these passages "the sun and moon made black and darkened" means that there was no longer any good or any truth; therefore they are not further explained.
[15] Because such things are signified by "the sun darkened," therefore the sun was darkened when the Lord was upon the cross, because He was entirely rejected by the church that then was with the Jews, who were consequently in dense darkness, or in falsities. This is thus described in Luke:
At the sixth hour darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour, for the sun was darkened (64, 83, 195c at the end.)
[16] In Micah:
Jehovah said against the prophets that cause the people to err, It shall be night unto you for vision; and darkness shall be to you for divination; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall grow black over them (Micah 3:5-6).
What these words signify in the spiritual sense, may be seen above n. Amos 8:9).
This signifies that in the church, where the Word is from which it might be known what is good and true, there is nevertheless nothing but evil and falsity. "To cause the sun to set," and "to darken the earth" signify the evil of life, and the falsity of doctrine in the church; for "the rising of the sun" signifies the good of love, which is the good of the life, and "the setting of the sun" signifies the evil of love, which is the evil of the life; and "the darkening of the earth" signifies the consequent falsity of doctrine, "darkness" signifying falsities, and "the earth" the church; "at noon," and "in the day of light" signify when there might be the knowledges of good and truth, because they have the Word, "noon" signifying where there are the knowledges of good, and the "day of light" where there are the knowledges of truth. Such knowledges as are from the Word are meant, because it is the church where the Word is that is here treated of.
[17] In Habakkuk:
The mountains were moved; the overflowing of waters passed by. Sun and moon stood in their habitation; Thine arrows go forth in light, the lightning of Thy spear in brightness (Habakkuk 3:10-11).
This chapter treats of the Lord's coming and of the Last Judgment then accomplished by Him; "the mountains were moved, the overflowing of waters passed by" signifies that those who were in the love of self and the world were cast out by the falsities of evil into which they were let; "mountains" signifying the loves of self and the world, and "the overflowing of waters" to be let into falsities from those loves, "waters" meaning falsities, and "overflowing" to be let into them. That by those in that state genuine truths and goods are not seen, but instead of these, fatuous truths and goods, which in themselves are falsities and evils is signified by, "Thine arrows go forth in light, the lightning of Thy spear in brightness;" "arrows" or "lightnings" signifying fatuous truths, which in themselves are falsities, and "the lightning of the spear" signifying fatuous goods which in themselves are the evils of falsity. Moreover, such signs appear in the spiritual world, in the case of those who are in falsities from the loves of self and the world, when the Last Judgment takes place, and these are cast out.
[18] As in this prophecy it is said, "Sun and moon stood in their habitation," the significance of the sun's resting in Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of Aijalon shall also be explained, which is thus described in Joshua:
Then spoke Joshua to Jehovah, and he said in the eyes of Israel, Sun, rest thou in Gibeon; and thou, moon, in the valley of Aijalon; and the sun rested, and the moon stayed, until the nation was avenged upon its enemies. Is not this written upon the book of the Upright? And the sun stood in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day (Jos. Joshua 10:12-13).
That the sun is said to have stood in Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of Aijalon, signifies that the church was altogether vastated in respect to all good and truth, for a battle was then going on against the king of Jerusalem and the kings of the Amorites; and "the king of Jerusalem" signifies the truth of the church wholly vastated by falsities, and "the kings of the Amorites" signify the good of the church vastated by evils; therefore those kings were smitten with hailstones, which signify the dire falsities of evil. It is said that the sun and the moon stood in their place, that is, before the sons of Israel, that they might see their enemies; but this, although it is told as history is a prophecy, as is evident from its being said, "Is not this written upon the book of the Upright?" which was a prophetical book from which this was taken; so it was from the same book that it was said, "Until the nation was avenged upon its enemies," and not, "Until the sons of Israel were avenged upon their enemies," the term "nation" being used prophetically. This is evident also from the fact that if this miracle had occurred altogether in this way, the whole nature of the world would have been inverted, which is not the case with the other miracles in the Word. That it might be known, therefore, that this was said prophetically, it is added, "Is not this written upon the book of the Upright?" And yet it is not to be doubted, that there was given to them a light out of heaven, a light in Gibeon like that of the sun, and a light in the valley of Aijalon like that of the moon.
[19] In Jeremiah:
She that hath borne seven shall languish, she shall breathe out her soul; her sun shall go down while it is yet day, it shall be ashamed and blush; and the remnant of them will I give to the sword before their enemies (257. "Her sun shall go down while it is yet day" signifies that the good of the church is about to perish, although the church has the Word, and might through the Word be in light; "it, namely, the sun, shall be ashamed and blush" signifies because good and truth are not received, but evil and falsity (as is evident also from the next quotation from Isaiah); "the remnant of them will I give to the sword before their enemies" signifies that all the remaining good and truth will perish through the falsity from evil; "remnant" meaning all that remains; "to be given to the sword" meaning to perish on account of falsities; "enemies" meaning evils.
[20] In Isaiah:
Jehovah will visit upon the host of the height in the height, and upon the Kings of the earth who are upon the earth. Then the moon shall blush, and the sun be ashamed (Isaiah 24:21, 23).
"To visit" signifies to destroy, because visitation precedes judgment, when those who are in evils and in falsities therefrom are destroyed; "the host of the height in the height" signifies all evils that are from the love of self, "host" signifying all evils; "the kings of the earth" falsities of every kind, and "the earth" the church. This makes clear the signification of "Jehovah will visit upon the host of the height in the height, and upon the kings of the earth who are upon the earth." It is said "upon the host of the height in the height" because those who are in the love of self seek in the spiritual world high places; "then the moon shall blush, and the sun be ashamed," signifies that there is no longer any reception of Divine truth and Divine good, "moon" and "sun" signifying the truth of faith and the good of love, and these are said "to blush and be ashamed" when they are no longer received, but falsity and evil are received in their place.
[21] In David:
Jehovah, who hath made the heavens by His intelligence, who hath spread out the earth upon the waters; who hath made great luminaries, the sun for rule by day, the moon and stars for rule by night: Who hath smitten Egypt in their firstborn, and hath brought out Israel from the midst of them (Psalms 136:5-11).
He who knows nothing of the spiritual sense of the Word must suppose that there is nothing involved in these words except what appears in the sense of the letter; and yet every particular involves such things as pertain to angelic wisdom, which are all celestial Divine and spiritual Divine things. This describes the new creation, or regeneration of the men of the church, of whom the church consists; "the heavens" which Jehovah hath made by His intelligence, signify the internal things of the men of the church, which, in one expression, are called the spiritual man, where intelligence has its seat, and where their heaven is; "the earth" which He hath spread out upon the waters, signifies the external of the church, which in one expression, is called the natural man; this is said to be "spread out upon the waters" because there the truths are by which man is regenerated, "waters" meaning truths; "the great luminaries, the sun, moon, and stars," signify the good of love, truth from that good, and the knowledges of good and truth, "the sun," the good of love, "the moon" truth from that good, and "the stars" the knowledges of good and truth. The sun is said to have been made "for rule by day," because "day" signifies the light of the spiritual man, for the spiritual man has illustration and perception from the good of love; the moon and the stars are said to have been made "for rule by night," because "night" signifies the light of the natural man, and its light, as compared with the light of the spiritual man, is like the light of night from the moon and the stars as compared with the light of day from the sun. Because this treats of the regeneration of the men of the church it follows, "who hath smitten Egypt in their firstborn, and hath brought out Israel from the midst of them;" "Egypt" signifying the natural man, such as it is by birth, namely, in mere falsities from evil; "their firstborn" mean primary things; the destruction of these while man is being regenerated is meant by "who hath smitten Egypt in their firstborn;" "Israel" signifies the spiritual man; and "to bring him out from the midst of them" signifies to open the spiritual man, and thus to regenerate; for the Lord regenerates the man of the church by dispersing the falsities from evils that are in the natural man, and by opening the spiritual man, and this is effected by the Lord by means of spiritual light, which is Divine truth.
[22] Like things are signified by these words in Genesis:
God made two great luminaries; the great luminary to rule by day, and the lesser luminary to rule by night, and the stars (Genesis 1:16).
For that chapter treats of the new creation, or the regeneration of the men of whom the Most Ancient Church consisted, and this is described in the sense of the letter, by the creation of heaven and earth. Like things are signified, too, by these words in Jeremiah:
Thus said the Lord Jehovih 2who giveth the sun for light by day, the statutes of the moon and stars for light by night (Jeremiah 31:35).
"The statutes of the moon and stars" signify all things that are done in the natural man according to the laws of order.
[23] In David:
Praise ye Jehovah, all His angels; praise ye Him, all His hosts; praise ye Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all ye stars of light; praise Him, ye heavens of heavens (Psalms 148:2-4).
"To praise Jehovah" signifies to worship Him; "angels" signify those who are in Divine truths from the good of love, for such are angels; "all the hosts" signify goods and truths in the whole complex; "sun and moon" signify the good of love and the truth from that good; "the stars of light" signify the knowledges of truth from good; "the heavens of heavens" signify goods and truths both internal and external; and as man worships the Lord from those things that are with him from the Lord, thus from the goods and truths that are with him, and as man is a man from these, therefore it is said to them, namely, to the sun, moon, and stars, which signify goods and truths, that they "shall praise," that is, worship, Jehovah. Who does not know that the sun, moon, and stars do not praise, that is, worship?
[24] In Moses:
Of Joseph he said, Blessed of Jehovah be His land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that lieth beneath, and for the precious things of the increase of the sun, and for the precious things of the produce of the months (Heaven and Hell 20-28.)
[25] In Isaiah:
I will make thy suns a ruby, and thy gates of stones of carbuncles, and all thy border of stones of desire (Isaiah 54:12).
This is said of the nations outside of the church, from whom a new church was to be established by the Lord. "I will make thy suns a ruby" signifies that goods will be brilliant from the fire of love, "suns" here meaning the goods of love, and "the ruby" meaning a brilliance as from fire; "I will make thy gates of stones of carbuncles" signifies that truths will be resplendent from good, "gates" meaning introductory truths, in particular the doctrines that are from good, for all truths of doctrine that are genuine proceed from good, and are of good; and "stones of carbuncles" signify their brightness from good; in fact, all precious stones signify truths from good, and their color, brightness, and fire indicate the quality of the truth from good. "I will make all their border of stones of desire" signifies that true knowledges, which belong to the natural man, will be pleasant and enjoyable from good; for "border" has the same meaning as "foundation," and this means the natural man, for in the things in it the goods and truths of the spiritual man are terminated, and "stones of desire" mean truths pleasant and enjoyable from good; by these are meant the goods and truths of the Word which those who constitute the new church will have, and which will be such. That the "sun" signifies the good of love is evident, too, from their being called "suns," in the plural.
[26] In Job:
Was I glad because my means were great, and because my hand had found much? did I behold the light that it shone, and the moon that it walked in brightness? and hath my heart secretly misled itself, and my hand kissed my mouth? (Job 31:25-28).
These words mean in the spiritual sense that he had not acquired for himself intelligence from what was his own [ex proprio], and had taken no merit to himself for his intelligence, and had not gloried in it; for "Was I glad because my means were great, and because my hand had found much?" signifies, had he gloried over having intelligence, and having acquired it for himself from what was his own "means" signify the knowledges of good and truth, by which intelligence is gained; "and because my hand had found much" signifies to have acquired from what is one's own; "did I behold the light that it shone, and the moon that it walked in brightness" signifies to have spiritual truths, which constitute intelligence, "light" and the "moon" signifying spiritual truths; "hath my heart secretly misled itself, and my hand kissed my mouth?" signifies, have I therefore gloried inwardly, and have I claimed them to myself?
[27] In Matthew:
That ye may be sons of your Father who is in the heavens; who maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust (Matthew 5:45).
This treats of charity towards the neighbor, as is evident from what there precedes and follows, and, in particular of the Jews, who accounted the Gentiles as enemies, and their own people as friends. That they ought to love the Gentiles the same as their own people the Lord makes clear by this comparison; but as all comparisons in the Word are from correspondences, and from that are significative, as other things are that are not said comparatively, so it is with this comparison; and "the Father in the heavens maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust" signifies that the Lord flows in from heaven with the Divine good of love and with Divine truth, with those who are outside of the Jewish church as much as with those who are within it, "sun" also here signifying the good of love, and "rain" the Divine truth. "The evil and the unjust" signify in the internal sense those who were of the Jewish Church, since they did not receive; and "the good and the just" signify those who were outside of that church and did receive. In general, all the evil and the good, and the just and the unjust, are here meant, for the Lord flows in with good and truth equally with all, but all do not receive equally.
[28] Because "the sun" signifies the Lord in relation to Divine love, He is called "the Sun of righteousness (in Heaven and Hell 141, 148-150; and that "the north" means truth in obscurity, in the same chapter, n 148-150; for the Four Quarters in the Spiritual World are there treated of.)
Again, "the setting of the sun" signifies the state of the church when it is in ignorance, which is its first state; and "the rising of the sun" signifies its state when it is in light. "The setting of the sun" also signifies the state of the church when it is in evils and falsities therefrom; and "the rising of the sun" when it is in goods and in truths therefrom.
[29] The first state of the church, when it is still in ignorance, is signified by the commencement of the passover in the evening when the sun was set, according to these words of Moses:
Thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, when the sun shall have set in the stated time of thy going forth out of Egypt (Arcana Coelestia 7093, 7867, 9286-9292, 10655). And because the first state of regeneration is a state of ignorance, the beginning of that feast was "at even, when the sun had set." Again, that state is signified by "the going forth of the sons of Israel out of Egypt," for in Egypt they were in a servile state, and thus in a state of ignorance; therefore it is said, "in the stated time of the going forth out of Egypt."
[30] The last state of the church, when the church is in falsities and evils, for this state is its last, is signified by "the setting of the sun" in Moses:
When the sun was about setting, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and lo, a horror and great darkness fell upon him. At length, when the sun had set, and it had become dark, behold, a furnace of smoke, and a torch of fire that passed through between these pieces (Genesis 15:12, 17).
These things are said of the posterity of Abram from Jacob, that is, of the Israelitish and Jewish nation; and "when the sun was about setting," and "at length, when the sun had set," signify the last state of the church in that nation, that they were in mere falsities and evils; "great darkness" and "a furnace of smoke," signify falsities from evil; and "a torch of fire" signifies the dire love of self, from which came their evils and falsities.
[31] As most things in the Word have also a contrary sense, so have "sun" and "moon" and in that sense "sun" signifies the love of self, and "moon," the falsities therefrom. "Sun and moon" have this signification because those who are in natural thought only, and not in spiritual thought, do not think beyond nature; therefore when they see that from these two luminaries, or from their light and heat, all things arise and, as it were, live upon the earth, they suppose that these luminaries rule the universe; above this they do not raise their thoughts. This all do who are in the love of self and in the evils and falsities therefrom, for such are merely natural and sensual men, and the merely natural and sensual man does not think beyond nature, for what he does not see and touch he believes to be nothing.
With the ancients, all things of the church consisted of the representatives of spiritual things in natural; with them therefore, "the sun" signified the Lord in relation to Divine good, and "the moon" the Lord in relation to Divine truth, consequently in worship they turned their faces to the rising of the sun; and those among them who were in the love of self, and were therefore merely natural and sensual, began to worship as their highest gods the sun and the moon that they saw with their eyes; but because those alone did this, or persuaded others to do it, who were in the love of self and in the evils and falsities therefrom, therefore "the sun" signifies the love of self, and "the moon" the falsity therefrom. This becomes still more evident in the case of spirits in the other life who in the world had been such; these turn the face away from the Lord, and turn it towards something there that is dark and in thick darkness, which is in the place of the sun and moon of the world, over against the sun and moon of the angelic heaven (on which more may be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell 122, 123). By persons like this the worship of the sun and moon was instituted in ancient times, when all Divine worship was representative; but at this day, when representatives have ceased, the worship of the sun and moon does not exist in the Christian world, but in its place the worship of self, which exists with those in whom the love of ruling predominates. This makes clear the signification of "sun and moon" in the contrary sense.
[32] That in ancient times the sun and moon were worshiped is evident from the fact that the Gentiles dedicated shrines to them, which are spoken of in many histories. That the Egyptians as well as the Jews and Israelites worshiped the sun and moon is evident from the Word. That the Egyptians did, see in Jeremiah:
The King of Babylon shall come, and shall smite the land of Egypt, and shall break in pieces the pillars of the house of the sun in the land of Egypt (Jeremiah 43:11, 13).
That the Jews and Israelites did, see in Ezekiel:
I held their faces towards the east; and the same bowed themselves towards the rising of the sun (Ezekiel 8:16).
This treats of the abominations of Jerusalem. In the second book of Kings:
Josiah 3the King put down the idolatrous priests, them that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, to the moon, and to the stars, and to all of the hosts of the heavens. He furthermore took away the horses that the Kings of Judah had set up to the sun at the entering in of the house of Jehovah, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire (2 Kings 23:5, 11).
In Jeremiah:
They shall bring out the bones of the Kings of Judah, the bones of his princes, and the bones of his priests, and the bones of his prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and they shall spread them to the sun and the moon and all the host of the heavens, which they have loved, and which they have served (Jeremiah 8:1-2);
and also Jeremiah 44:17-19, 25; Deuteronomy 4:19; 17:3, 5.
[33] Because "Moab" in the Word signifies those who are in a life of falsity from the love of self, and their worship signifies the worship of self, therefore when the Israelitish people drew near to the worship of the Moabitish people, it was commanded that the chiefs of the people should be hung up before the sun; respecting which it is thus written in Moses:
The daughters of Moab called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods; and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. Especially did Israel join himself unto Baalpeor; therefore Jehovah said unto Moses, Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them up before the sun (Arcana Coelestia 2468, 8315).
[34] From this it is also clear that the sun of the world signifies the love of self. Because the love of self lets man down into what is his own [proprium] and holds him there, for it looks continually to self, and man's own is nothing but evil, and from evil comes every falsity, therefore "the heat of the sun" signifies adulterated truth, which in its essence is the falsity of evil. This is signified by "the heat of the sun" in the following passages. In Revelation:
The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun; and it was given unto him to scorch men with fire (Revelation 16:8).
And elsewhere:
They shall hunger no more, neither shall the sun fall on them, nor any heat (Revelation 7:16).
In David:
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. Jehovah shall keep thee from all evil, He shall keep thy soul (Psalms 121:6, 7).
The "sun" here means the love of self, and the "moon" the falsity therefrom; because from that love is all evil, and from evil all falsity, therefore it is said, "Jehovah shall keep thee from all evil, and He shall keep thy soul," "soul" signifying the life of truth.
[35] In Matthew:
Other seeds fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth; and when the sun was risen they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away (Matthew 13:5-6; Mark 4:5-6).
"Seeds" signify the truths from the Word, that is, the truths man receives from the Lord, for it is afterwards said, that it is "the Son of man that soweth." "Rocky places" signify a historical faith, which is another's faith in oneself, which is believing a thing to be true, not because one sees it in himself, but because another in whom he has confidence has said it. "Earth" signifies spiritual good, because this receives truths as soil does seeds; "the sun's rising" signifies the love of self; and "to be scorched" and "to wither away" signify to be adulterated and to perish. This makes clear what is signified by these words of the Lord in series, namely, that the truths that are implanted from infancy from the Word or from preaching, when man begins to think from himself, are adulterated and perish by lusts from the love of self. All things in the Word are, indeed, truths, but they are adulterated by the ideas of thought concerning them, and by the way they are applied, consequently with such persons truths are not truths except in respect to the mere utterance of them. This is so because all the life of truth is from spiritual good, and spiritual good has its seat in the higher or interior mind, which is called the spiritual mind. This mind cannot be opened with those who are in the love of self, for in everything they look to self. If they lift their eyes to heaven, still the thought of their spirit is held in the consideration of self; consequently from the fire of its own glory it incites the external and corporeal sensual things which have been taught from childhood, to the imitation of such affections as belong to the spiritual man.
[36] It is written in Jonah that "the gourd that came up over him withered, and that the sun beat upon his head, so that he fell sick." As this cannot be understood without explanation by the internal sense, it shall be explained in a few words. It is thus told in Jonah:
Jehovah prepared a gourd that came up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head to deliver him from his evil, and Jonah was glad over the gourd. And God prepared a worm, when the dawn came up the following day, and it smote the gourd that it dried up. And it came to pass when the sun arose that God prepared a scorching east wind; and the sun smote upon the head of Jonah, and he fell sick so that he asked that his soul might die. Then God said to Jonah, is it well for thee to be angry over the gourd? He said, It is well for me to be angry, even unto death. Jehovah said, Thou wouldest spare the gourd, for which thou hast not labored, nor didst thou make it grow up, because thou didst become the son of the night 4and the son of night perisheth; shall not I spare Nineveh, the great city, in which are more than twelve myriads 5of men? (Jonah 4:6-11).
This is a description of the genius of the Jewish nation, that they are in the love of self and in falsities therefrom. Jonah was of that nation, and therefore also was sent to Nineveh; for the Jewish nation had the Word, and was therefore able to teach those who were outside of the church and who are called Gentiles; these are signified by "Nineveh." Because the Jewish nation was, above others, in the love of self and in the falsities from that love, they did not wish well to any but themselves, thus not to the Gentiles, but these they hated. Because that nation was such, and Jonah represented it, he was very angry that Jehovah should spare Nineveh, for it is said:
Jonah was ill with a great illness, so that he was angry, and from the illness of anger he said, Take, O Jehovah, my soul from me, for my death is better than my life (Jonah 4:1, 3).
This evil in that nation is signified by the gourd which the worm smote so that it dried up. "The sun that smote upon the head of Jonah" signifies the love of self which was in that nation; and "the scorching east wind" the falsity therefrom; and "the worm that smote the gourd" signifies the destruction of this evil and the falsity thence. That this is the signification of "the gourd" is evident from its being said in this description that Jonah at first "was glad over the gourd," and after the gourd had been smitten by the worm and had dried up that "he was angry over it, even unto death," and also from its being said that "he had pity over the gourd." That the Jewish nation, because it was in such a love and in such falsity therefrom was liable to damnation is meant by these words to Jonah, "thou didst not cause it to grow up, because thou didst become a son of night, 6and a son of night perisheth." (That such was the Jewish nation, see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 248.)
[37] The love of self is signified here and in the preceding passages, because "the sun" in the genuine spiritual sense signifies love to the Lord, and the love of self is the opposite of this love.
Moreover, the Lord's Divine love, which is present with everyone, is turned into the love of self with the evil; for everything that flows in is changed in the recipient subject into what agrees with its own nature; as the pure heat of the sun is turned into an offensive smell in subjects of such a nature, and the pure light of the sun into hideous colors in objects of such reception; this is why "the sun that smote upon the head of Jonah" signifies the love of self that is in him; likewise "the sun that was risen" by which the seeds were scorched upon the rocky places, mentioned in Matthew.
[38] In Revelation:
The city New Jerusalem hath no need of the sun and moon to shine in it, for the glory of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the lamp thereof (Revelation 21:23; 22:5).
"The sun" here, of which the city New Jerusalem shall have no need, signifies natural love, which, viewed in itself is the love of self and the world; and "the moon" signifies natural light, for natural light, viewed in itself is from natural love, and the quality of the light is according to the quality of the love; while spiritual love and spiritual light are signified by "the glory of God shall lighten it, and the Lamb is the lamp thereof."
[39] That such is the sense of these words is very evident from the following from Isaiah:
The sun shall be no more a light to thee by day, and for brightness the moon shall not give light unto thee; but Jehovah shall be unto thee for a light of eternity, and thy God for thine adornment. Thy sun shall no more go down, and thy moon shall not withdraw; for Jehovah shall be unto thee for a light of eternity, and the days of thy mourning shall be fulfilled (Isaiah 60:19-20).
In the first part of this passage "the sun and moon" have the same meaning as above in Revelation, namely, "the sun" signifies merely natural love, and "the moon" natural light therefrom; but in the latter part of the passage "the sun and moon" mean the sun and moon of the angelic heaven, and that sun signifies the Lord's Divine love, and the moon Divine truth, as was explained above. For it is first said, "the sun shall be no more a light to thee by day, and for brightness the moon shall not give light unto thee;" and afterwards it is said, "thy sun shall no more go down, and thy moon shall not withdraw." From all this it is now evident what "sun and moon" signify in both senses.
Footnotes:
1. The photolithograph has "my," as also 2 Kings 23 is "Josiah."
4. The photolithograph has "because thou didst become the son of death, and the son of death perished;" the Hebrew has, "which was the son of a night and perished a son of the night."
5. The photolithograph has "thousands;" the Hebrew has "myriads."
6. Cf. 887.
401. "Et sol factus est niger tanquam saccus cilicinus, et luna facta est tanquam sanguis." - Quod significet quod omne bonum amoris disparatum sit, et inde omne verum fidei falsificatum, constat ex significatione "Solis", quod in supremo sensu sit Dominus quoad Divinum Amorem, et inde apud hominem, bonum amoris in Dominum a Domino (de qua sequitur); ex significatione "niger tanquam saccus cilicinus", quod sit disparatum; "nigrum" dicitur ex caligine, ita quod non ex aliqua luce apparet; "tanquam saccus cilicinus seu "pilosus" dicitur, quia intelligitur sensuale hominis, quod infimum naturalis est, et inde circum interiora, ac illis inducit caliginem: (sunt binae mentes apud hominem, spiritualis et naturalis; spiritualis mens cogitat et percipit ex luce caeli, naturalis autem mens cogitat et percipit ex luce mundi; ex hac est homini lumen, quod lumen naturale vocatur: haec mens est quae vocatur naturalis homo, illa autem quae vocatur spiritualis homo. Quia mens naturalis est infra seu extra mentem spiritualem, inde quoque est circum eam, obvolvit enim eam undequaque; ideo dicitur "saccus cilicinus" seu "pilosus"; cum enim mens spiritualis, quae superior et interior mens est, occlusa est, tunc naturalis mens, quae inferior et exterior, est in caligine quoad omnia caeli et ecclesiae; omnis enim lux, quae est naturali menti, et facit ejus intelligentiam, est ex luce mentis ejus spiritualis, quae lux est lux caeli. Sensuale, quod est ultimum naturalis, est quoque sicut pilosum in luce caeli; inde est quod "pilus" significet ultimum naturalis hominis, quod est sensuale ejus (videatur n. 3301, 5247, 5569-5573): haec dicta sunt ut sciatur cur dictum est quod "sol factus sit niger tanquam saccus cilicinus:")
[2] ex significatione "lunae", quod sit verum spirituale, quod vocatur verum fidei (de qua etiam sequitur): et ex significatione quod "facta sit sicut sanguis", quod sit quod verum falsificatum sit; "sanguis" enim in genuino sensu significat Divinum Verum, et in opposito violentiam ei illatam, ita Divinum Verum falsificatum; (quod "sanguis" in Verbo illa significet, videatur supra, n. 329(f);) inde patet quid significat, quod "luna facta sit tanquam sanguis." Quod "sol" significet Dominum quoad Divinum Amorem, et inde apud hominem, bonum amoris in Dominum a Domino, et quod "luna" significet verum spirituale, est causa quia Dominus in caelo ubi angeli caelestes sunt, apparet ut Sol, et in caelo ubi angeli spirituales sunt, ut Luna: quod appareat ut Sol, est ex Divino Ipsius Amore, nam Divinus Amor apparet sicut ignis, unde calor est angelis in caelis; inde per "ignem" caelestem et spiritualem in Verbo intelligitur amor: quod Dominus appareat ut Luna, est a luce ex illo Sole, Luna enim lumen suum trahit ex illo Sole, et lux in caelo est Divinum Verum; inde per "lucem" in Verbo significatur Divinum Verum. (Sed De Sole at da Luna in Caelis, et De Luce et de Calore inde, videantur quae in opere De Caelo et Inferno 116-125, et n. 126-140, ostensa sunt.)
[3] Quod in Verbo per "solem" significetur Dominus quoad Divinum Amorem, et apud hominem, bonum amoris in Dominum, ac per "lunam" Dominus quoad Divinum Verum spirituale, constat ex sequentibus his locis:
Apud Matthaeum,
Cum Jesus coram Petro, Jacobo et Johanne transformatus est, "splenduit facies Ipsius tanquam Sol, et Vestimenta Ipsius facta sunt sicut Lux" (17:1, 2):
quia Dominus tunc visus est in Divino suo, apparuit quoad faciem ut Sol, et quoad vestimenta ut Lux, facies enim correspondet amori, et vestimenta correspondent veris; et quia Divinus Amor in Ipso fuit, ideo "facies Ipsius splenduit ut Sol"; et quia Divinum Verum ex Ipso fuit, ideo "vestimenta Ipsius facta sunt sicut Lux"; lux etiam in caelo est Divinum Verum procedens a Domino ut Sole.
(Quod "facies", cum de Domino, sit Amor et omne Bonum, videatur in Arcanis Caelestibus, n. 5585, 9306, 9546, 9888; et quod "vestimenta", cum de Domino, significent Divinum Verum, videatur supra, n. 64, 195(c).) Similiter apparet Dominus in caelo coram angelis, quando Se illis praesentem sistit, sed tunc apparet extra Solem; quapropter etiam similiter visus est Johanni cum fuit in spiritu, ut constat in Apocalypsi, ubi dicitur quod
Facies Filii hominis "visa sit tanquam Sol fulget in sua potentia" (cap. 1:16);
quod sit Dominus qui visus, patet (videatur supra, n. 63).
[4] Similiter cum Dominus Johanni visus est sicut angelus, de quo (legitur),
"Vidi Angelum fortem descendentem e caelo circumdatum nube, et iris circum caput, et facies Ejus sicut Sol" (Apocalypsis 10:1);
per "angelos" enim in Verbo in sensu ejus spirituali non intelliguntur angeli, sed aliquod Divinum ex Domino; quoniam Divinum quod apparet ex illis non est illorum, sed est Domini apud illos: similiter Divinum Verum quod loquuntur, quod plenum est sapientia, non loquuntur a se sed a Domino; fuerunt enim homines, et omnis sapientia et intelligentia est hominibus a Domino: inde constare potest quod per "angelum" in Verbo intelligatur Dominus, qui etiam tunc apparuit sicut Sol. (Quod per "angelum" in Verbo intelligatur aliquod Divinum a Domino, videatur in Arcanis Caelestibus, n. 1925, 2821, 3039, 4085, 6280, 1
8192:
quod angeli inde in Verbo dicantur "dii", n. 4295, 4402, 7268, 7873, 8301, 8192.)
[5] Inde cum ecclesia repraesentata est sicut mulier, etiam tunc apparuit circum illam sol, de qua ita in Apocalypsi,
"Signum magnum visum est in caelo, mulier circumdata Solem, et luna sub pedibus ejus, et super capite corona stellarum duodecim" (12:1):
quod per "mulierem" ibi significetur ecclesia, videbitur in explicatione quae in sequentibus dabitur; (quod "mulier" significet ecclesiam, videatur in Arcanis Caelestibus, n. 252, 253, 749, 770): et quia ecclesia est a Domino, ideo visa est circumdata Sole: quid significatur per quod "luna sub pedibus ejus", et quod "super capite corona stellarum duodecim", etiam in explicatione illa dicetur.
[6] Inde dicitur a Davide,
"Dixit Deus Israelis, mihi locuta est Petra Israelis, ... sicut lux matutae, cum oritur sol, matutae sine nubibus a splendore post pluviam" (2 Samuelis 23:3, 4):
per "Deum Israelis" et per "Petram Israelis" intelligitur Dominus quoad ecclesiam et quoad Divinum Verum ibi, per "Deum Israelis" quoad ecclesiam, et per "Petram Israelis" quoad Divinum Verum ibi; et quia Dominus est Sol caeli angelici, et Divinum Verum procedens ab Ipso est lux illius caeli, ideo dicitur de Divino quod locutus est, quod est Divinum Verum, "sicut lux matutae, cum oritur sol"; quia hoc est purum, et procedit ex Divino Amore Ipsius, ideo additur, "matutae sine nubibus a splendore post pluviam", splendor enim lucis seu Divini Veri procedentis ab Ipso est ex Divino Amore; "post pluviam" significat post communicationem et receptionem, nam splendor ejus tunc est apud angelos et homines cum quibus communicatur et a quibus recipitur.
(Quod "Petra" et "Lapis Israelis" sit Dominus quoad Divinum Verum, videatur n. 6426, 8581, 10580; et quod Lux sit Divinum Verum procedens a Domino ut Sole, ita ex Divino Amore Ipsius, in opere De Caelo et Inferno 126-140.)
[7] Similiter dicitur de amantibus Jehovam in Libro Judicum,
"Amantes Ipsum sicut oriri solis in potentia sua" (5:31):
quod "Jehovah" in Verbo sit Dominus quoad Divinum Bonum Divini Amoris, videatur in Arcanis Caelestibus (n. 1736, 1192, 3035, 5041, 6303, 6281, 8864, 9315, 9373, 10146); de amantibus Ipsum dicitur, "sicut oriri solis in potentia sua", per quod significatur Divinus Domini Amor in illis: de illis etiam dicitur quod "fulgebunt sicut sol", apud Matthaeum,
"Justi fulgebunt ut sol in regno Patris 2
mei" (13:43):
"justi" in Verbo dicuntur qui amant Dominum, hoc est, ex amore faciunt praecepta Ipsius; et illi fulgent quoad faciem jubare sicut ex sole, quia Divinus Amor Domini illis communicatur et ab illis recipitur, ex quo Dominus est in medio eorum, hoc est, in interioribus eorum, quae se manifestant in facie.
(Quod "justi" dicantur qui in bono amoris in Dominum sunt, videatur supra, n. 204(b).)
[8] Apud Davidem,
"Semen Ejus in aeternum erit, et thronus Ejus sicut sol coram Me, sicut luna firmus in aeternum, et testis in nubibus fidelis" (Psalms 89:37, 38 [B.A. 36, [37]):
haec dicta sunt de Domino, ac de caelo et ecclesia Ipsius; nam per "Davidem", de quo ibi in sensu litterae agitur, intelligitur Dominus (videatur supra, n. 205); per "semen Ipsius" quod in aeternum erit, significatur Divinum Verum, et quoque significantur illi qui id recipiunt; per "thronum Ejus qui sicut sol coram Me" significatur caelum et ecclesia Ipsius, quae in bono caelesti sunt, quod est bonum amoris; per "thronum qui sicut luna firmus in aeternum" significatur caelum et ecclesia quae in bono spirituali, quod est Divinum Verum; per "testem in nubibus fidelem" significatur Verbum in sensu litterae, quod "testis" vocatur quia id testatur; "nubes" est sensus litterae Verbi.
[9] Apud eundem,
"Timebunt Te cum Sole, et coram Luna generatio generationum;... florebit in 3
diebus ejus justus, et multa pax usque dum non luna:... erit nomen Ipsius in aeternum; coram Sole nomen Filii habebit; et benedicentur in Eo omnes gentes" (Psalms 72:5, 7, 17):
haec quoque dicta sunt de Domino, nam agitur in toto illo psalmo de Ipso; et quia Dominus in caelo apparet illis qui in caelesti regno Ipsius ut Sol, et illis qui in spirituali regno Ipsius ut Luna, ideo dicitur, "Timebunt Te cum Sole, et coram Luna generatio generationum": quod "florebit in die illo justus, et multa pax usque dum non luna", significatur quod qui in amore in Dominum sunt, erunt in veris ex illo bono, nam vera apud illos qui in regno caelesti sunt, seu qui in amore in Dominum, illis insita sunt; "justi" enim dicuntur qui in bono amoris, et "pax" dicitur de illo bono. (Sed ut sciatur quomodo hoc intelligendum est, nempe "usque dum non luna", dicetur: lux procedens a Domino ut Sole differt a luce quae procedit a Domino ut Luna in caelis, sicut lux solis in mundo interdiu a luce lunae in mundo noctu; similiter intelligentia illorum qui in luce Solis caeli sunt ab intelligentia illorum qui in luce Lunae ibi sunt; quare illi qui in luce Solis ibi sunt, in Divino Vero puro sunt; at illi qui in luce Lunae ibi sunt, in Divino Vero non puro sunt, sunt enim in multis falsis quae traxerunt ex non intellecto Verbi sensu litterae, quae falsa usque apparent eis sicut vera: ex his constare potest quod per "usque dum non luna" significetur usque dum apud illos (non) falsum apparens sicut verum, sed verum purum, quod unum facit cum bono amoris. Sed sciendum est quod falsa illorum qui in lumine Lunae in caelis sunt, sint falsa in quibus non malum, et quod ideo illa acceptentur a Domino sicut forent vera (de quibus falsis videatur in Doctrina Novae Hierosolymae, n. 21). Hoc itaque est quod significatur per "usque dum non luna", nempe apud illos qui intelliguntur per "justos, in quibus multa pax": in sensu autem supremo, per illa verba intelligitur Dominus quoad Divinum Humanum suum, quod hoc erit Divinum Bonum Divini Amoris; quare etiam additur, "Coram Sole nomen Filii habebit", per "Filium" intelligitur Divinum Humanum Domini.) Et quia per "gentes" intelliguntur omnes qui in bono sunt, seu qui recipiunt bonum amoris a Domino, ideo dicitur, "Et benedicentur in Eo omnes gentes." (Quod per "gentes" significentur qui in bono sunt, et per "populos" qui in veris, videatur supra, n. 331.)
[10] Apud Esaiam,
"Erunt super omni monte alto et super omni colle elato, rivi, ductus aquarum, in die caedis magnae, cum cadent turres: et erit lux Lunae sicut lux Solis, et lux Solis erit septupla sicut lux septem dierum" (30:25, 26):
haec dicta sunt de ultimo judicio, quod intelligitur per "diem caedis magnae cum cadent turres"; per "turres" quae cadent, intelliguntur qui in malis sunt et inde falsis, in specie qui in amore dominandi per sancta ecclesiae (videatur in opere De Ultimo Judicio 56, 58): quod tunc illis qui in amore in Dominum sunt, et in charitate erga proximum, dabitur intelligere vera, significatur per quod "erunt super omni monte alto et super omni colle elato, rivi, ductus aquarum"; qui "super monte alto", sunt qui in bono amoris in Dominum, nam "mons altus" significat id bonum; qui "super colle elato", sunt qui in bono charitatis erga proximum, "collis" enim significat id bonum; "rivi et ductus aquarum" significant intelligentiam ex veris: quod tunc erit verum in regno spirituali Domini sicut fuit verum prius in regno caelesti, et quod tunc erit verum in regno caelesti bonum amoris, intelligitur per quod "erit lux Lunae sicut lux Solis, et lux Solis erit septupla sicut lux septem dierum"; per "lucem" enim intelligitur Divinum Verum procedens a Domino, per "lucem Lunae" Divinum Verum in regno spirituali, et per "lucem Solis" Divinum Verum in regno caelesti; per "septuplum" significatur plenum et perfectum, et tunc verum est plenum et perfectum cum est bonum seu bonum in forma. Quod non intelligantur sol et luna in terris, sed Sol et Luna in caelis, constare potest. Sciendum est quod cum ultimum judicium peragitur, appareat Dominus in caelis in multo majori jubare et splendore quam alias, et hoc ex causa quia tunc angeli ibi fortius tutandi sunt; inferiora enim tunc cum quibus exteriora angelorum communicationem habent, in perturbatione sunt; inde quoque est, quia de ultimo judicio hic agitur, quod dicatur, quod "lux Lunae erit sicut lux Solis", et quod "lux Solis erit septupla sicut lux septem dierum"; ac ideo dicitur quod tunc "erunt rivi ductus aquarum super omni monte alto et super omni colle elato", per quae intelligentia abundans apud illos qui in superioribus montibus et superioribus collibus sunt, nam inferiores montes et colles sunt super quos tunc judicium. (Quod Dominus appareat illis qui in regno caelesti Ipsius sunt ut Sol, et illis qui in regno spirituali Ipsius sunt ut Luna, videatur in opere De Caelo et Inferno 116- 4
125; et quod Lux ex illis sit Divinum Verum, n. 127-140 ibi.)
[11] Apud eundem,
"Non occidet amplius Sol tuus, et Luna tua non colligetur, quia Jehovah erit tibi in lucem aeternitatis, et implebuntur dies luctus tui" (60:20):
agitur ibi de Domino, et de novo caelo et nova terra, hoc est, de ecclesia ab Ipso instauranda; quod non periturum bonum amoris in Dominum et bonum charitatis erga proximum illis qui in ea ecclesia, intelligitur per quod "non occidet amplius Sol tuus, et Luna tua non colligetur; Dominus enim apparet illis qui in bono amoris in Ipsum sunt ut Sol, et illis qui in veris ex bono charitatis erga proximum ut Luna; inde per "Solem tuum" significatur bonum amoris in Dominum, et per "Lunam tuam" bonum charitatis, quod in sua essentia est Verum ex bono: quod in aeternum erunt in veris ex bono amoris et in veris ex bono charitatis, intelligitur per quod "Jehovah erit tibi in lucem aeternitatis, et quod implebuntur dies luctus tui"; "lux aeternitatis" dicitur de illis qui in bono amoris in Dominum sunt, et "impletio dierum luctus" de illis qui in bono charitatis erga proximum seu in veris ex bono, "luctus" enim apud illos qui ab Ecclesiis Antiquis fuerunt, repraesentabat dolorem propter amissum seu deperditum verum et bonum; quod "implebuntur" significat quod finientur, et sic quod in veris ex bono erunt. Ex his constare potest quid significatur per quod "Sol factus sit sicut saccus cilicinus, et Luna facta sit sicut sanguis", quod nempe bonum amoris in Dominum disparatum sit, et inde verum falsificatum.
[12] Similia paene significantur in sequentibus his locis:
Apud Esaiam,
"Ecce dies Jehovae venit saevus, et indignationis et excandescentiae irae, ad ponendum terram in vastitatem, et peccatores ejus perdat ex ea; nam stellae caelorum et sidera eorum non lucent luce sua; obtenebratur sol in ortu suo, et luna non splendere facit lumen suum: visitabo super orbem malitiam, et super impios iniquitatem eorum" ( 5
13:9-11):
per "diem Jehovae saevam, indignationis et excandescentiae irae", significatur dies ultimi judicii; per quod "stellae caelorum et sidera eorum non luceant luce sua, obtenebretur sol in suo ortu, et luna non splendere faciat lucem suam", significatur quod perierint cognitiones boni et veri, tum bonum amoris in Dominum, et bonum charitatis, erga proximum, et inde verum quod verum fidei vocatur; per "stellas" enim significantur cognitiones boni, per "sidera" cognitiones veri, per "solem" bonum amoris in Dominum, et per "lunam" bonum charitatis erga proximum, quod in sua essentia est verum ex bono, et vocatur verum fidei: sol dicitur "obtenebrari in ortu suo", et luna "non splendere facere lucem suam", non quod Sol et Luna in caelis angelicis obtenebretur, nam Sol ibi semper in suo jubare est, et Luna in suo splendore; sed coram illis qui in malis et inde falsis sunt, bona et vera ita sunt, quare secundum apparentiam ita dictum est; illi enim qui in malis et inde falsis sunt, avertunt se a bono amoris et charitatis, proinde a Domino, et tunc non volunt nisi quam malum et non cogitant nisi quam falsum; et qui non aliud volunt et cogitant, non vident nisi caliginem et tenebras in talibus quae caeli et ecclesiae sunt: quia tales intelliguntur apud quos "sol obtenebratur et luna non splendere facit lucem suam", ideo dicitur, "ad ponendum terram in vastitatem, et peccatores ejus perdat ex ea", et dein, "visitabo super orbem malitiam et super impios iniquitatem eorum"; per "terram" et "orbem" significatur ecclesia, et per "poni illa in vastitatem" significatur quod non amplius aliquod bonum, et per "visitare super orbem malitiam et super impios iniquitatem eorum" significatur ultimum judicium.
[13] Apud Ezechielem,
"Obtegam, cum exstinxero te, caelos, et atrabo stellas eorum, solem nube obtegam, et luna non lucere faciet lucem suam; omnia luminaria lucis in caelis atrabo super te, et dabo tenebras super terra tua" (32:7, 8):
haec dicta sunt de Pharaone rege Aegypti, per quem ibi significatur naturalis homo separatus a spirituali; is, cum separatus est, prorsus in caligine et tenebris est quoad omnia quae caeli et ecclesiae sunt, et quantum separatus est tantum negat illa; nam naturalis homo nihil videt in talibus a se, sed per spiritualem a Domino, naturalis enim homo est in mundi calore et luce, at spiritualis est in caeli calore et luce: ex his patet quid per singula ibi intelligitur; quod nempe per "obtegam, cum exstinxero te, caelos", significentur interiora quae sunt in luce caeli; per "atrabo stellas eorum" significentur cognitiones boni et veri; per "solem nube obtegam" significetur bonum amoris in Dominum; per "luna non lucere faciet lucem suam" significetur bonum charitatis erga proximum et inde verum fidei; per "omnia luminaria lucis atrabo super te" significantur omnia vera; et per "dabo tenebras super terra tua" significantur falsa.
[14] Apud Joelem,
"Venit dies Jehovae, ... dies tenebrarum et caliginis, dies nubis et obscuritatis;... coram Ipso commota est terra, ... Sol et Luna atrati sunt, et stellae contraxerunt splendorem suum" (2 (1, 2, ) 10):
apud eundem,
"Sol vertetur in tenebras, et luna in sanguinem, antequam venit dies Jehovae magnus et terribilis" (3:4 [B.A. 2:31)):
apud eundem,
"Propinquus est: dies Jehovae in valle decisa, sol et luna atrati sunt, et stellae contraxerunt splendorem suum" (4 [B.A. 3:14) [14,] 15);
apud Evangelistas,
"Statim post afflictionem dierum illorum, sol obscurabitur, et luna non dabit lucem suam, et stellae cadent de caelo" (Matthaeus 24:29; Marcus 13:24, 25):
in Apocalypsi,
"Quartus angelus clanxit, et percussa est tertia pars solis, et tertia pars lunae, et tertia pars stellarum, et tertia pars eorum obtenebrabatur, et dies non lucebat tertia sui parte, noxque similiter" ( 6
quod in his locis per "solem et lunam atratos" et "obtenebratos", intelligatur quod non bonum amplius nec verum, constat ex illis quae supra dicta sunt; quare non ulterius explicantur.
[15] Quoniam talia per "obtenebratum solem" significantur, ideo cum Dominus super cruce fuit, quia ab ecclesia, quae tunc apud Judaeos erat, prorsus rejectus fuit, et inde illi in densis tenebris seu falsis fuerunt, sol obscuratus est; de quo ita apud Lucam,
"Hora sexta tenebrae factae sunt super totam terram, usque ad horam nonam, obtenebratus enim est sol" (23:44, 45):
hoc factum est in signum et indicium quod negatus sit Dominus, et quod inde non aliquod bonum et verum esset apud illos qui ab ecclesia; omnia enim signa e caelis apud illos repraesentabant et significabant talia quae ecclesiae sunt, ex causa quia ecclesia apud illos erat ecclesia repraesentativa, seu constabat ex talibus in externis quae repraesentabant et inde significabant interna ecclesiae: quod "tenebrae factae fuerint super totam terram" significabat quod non nisi quam falsa mali essent apud illos qui ab ecclesia ("tota terra" est tota ecclesia, et "tenebrae" significant falsa); quod tribus horis, nempe "ab hora sexta ad nonam", significabat quod merum falsum et prorsus non aliquod verum, "tria" enim significant plenum, totum et prorsus, ac "sex" et "novem" significant omnia in complexu, hic falsa et mala; et quoniam falsa et mala apud illos erant quia negatus est Dominus, ideo dicitur, "et tenebrae factae sunt et obtenebratus est sol"; per "solem" qui obscuratus intelligitur Dominus, qui obscuratus dicitur quando falsa in ecclesia tantum regnant ut non agnoscatur, ac tantum mala ut crucifigatur. (Quod omnia et singula quae in Verbo de Passione Domini memorantur, significent, videatur supra, n. 64, 83, 195(c).)
[16] Apud Micham,
"Dixit Jehovah contra prophetas seducentes populum, ... Nox erit vobis pro visione, et tenebrae orientur vobis pro divinatione, et occidet sol super prophetas, et nigrescet super iis dies" (3:5, 6);
quid haec in sensu spirituali significant, videatur supra (n. 372(a)), ubi explicata sunt.
Apud Amos,
"Fiet in die illo occidere faciam solem in meridie, et obtenebrabo terram in die lucis" (8:9):
per haec significatur quod in ecclesia ubi Verbum, ex quo sciri potest quid bonum et verum, usque non sit nisi quam malum et falsum; "occidere facere solem, et obtenebrare terram" significat malum vitae et falsum doctrinae in ecclesia, per "solis" enim "ortum" significatur bonum amoris quod est bonum vitae, et per "solis occasum" significatur malum amoris quod est malum vitae, et per "obtenebrationem terrae" significatur falsum doctrinae inde ("tenebrae" significant falsa, et "terra" ecclesiam); per "in meridie et in die lucis" significatur quando ibi possunt esse cognitiones boni et veri, quia Verbum habent ("meridies" significat ubi cognitiones boni, et "dies lucis" ubi cognitiones veri); quod ex Verbo, est quia haec dicuntur de ecclesia ubi Verbum.
[17] Apud Habakuk,
"Commoti sunt montes, inundatio aquarum transivit sol, luna stetit sede, in lucem tela tua abeunt, in splendorem fulmen hastae tuae" (3:10, 11):
in eo capite agitur de adventu Domini et de ultimo judicio tunc ab Ipso; per quod "commoti sunt montes, inundatio aquarum transivit", significatur quod rejecti sint qui in amore sui et mundi per falsa mali in quae immissi; "montes" significant amores sui et mundi, et "inundatio aquarum" significat immissionem in falsa inde ("aquae" sunt falsa, et "inundatio" est immissio): quod tunc illis non appareant vera et bona genuina, sed loco illorum vera et bona fatua, quae in se sunt falsa et mala, significatur per "in lucem tela tua abeunt, in splendorem fulmen hastae"; "tela" seu "fulgura" significant vera fatua quae in se sunt falsa, ac "fulmen hastae" significat bona fatua quae in se sunt mala falsi talia etiam signa apparent in mundo spirituali apud illos qui in falsis ex amoribus sui et mundi sunt, quando ultimum judicium est, et tales rejiciuntur.
[18] Quoniam apud eum prophetam dicitur, "Sol et luna steterunt sede sua", explicabitur etiam quid significatur per quod "Sol in Gibeone quieverit et luna in valle Ajalonis", de quo ita apud Josuam,
"Tunc locutus est Josua Jehovae, ... et dixit in oculis Israelis, Sol in Gibeone quiesce, et luna in valle Ajalonis; et quievit sol et luna stetit, usque dum ulta est gens hostes suos; nonne hoc scriptum est super Libro Recti? Et stetit sol in medio caeli, nec festinavit occidere quasi diem integrum" (10:12, 13):
quod dicatur sol stetisse in Gibeone, et luna in valle Ajalonis, significabat quod ecclesia prorsus vastata fuerit quoad omne bonum et verum; pugnabatur enim tunc contra regem Hierosolymae, et reges Emorraeorum, et per "regem Hierosolymae" significatur verum ecclesiae prorsus vastatum per falsa, et per "reges Emorraeorum" significatur bonum ecclesiae vastatum per mala; ideo illi reges percussi fuerunt lapidibus grandinis, per quos significantur tetra falsa mali: dicitur quod sol et luna steterint sede, nempe coram filiis Israelis ut hostes suos viderent; sed hoc est propheticum, tametsi historice relatum est, ut constare potest ex eo, quod dicatur "Nonne hoc scriptum est super Libro Recti?" qui Liber fuit propheticus, a quo illa desumpta sunt; quapropter ex illo Libro etiam dicitur, "usque dum ulta est gens hostes suos", et non usque dum filii Israelis ulti sunt hostes suos, "gens" enim prophetice dicitur: idem etiam constare potest ex eo, quod hoc miraculum, si prorsus ita factum fuisset, invertisset universam mundi naturam, quod non faciunt reliqua miracula in Verbo: quare ut sciretur quod hoc prophetice dictum esset, dicitur "Nonne ita scriptum est super Libro Recti?" Quin usque quod lux illis e caelo data sit, lux sicut solis in Gibeone, et lux sicut lunae in valle Ajalonis, non dubitandum est;
[19] Apud Jeremiam,
"Elanguescet quae pepererat septem, exspirabit animam suam, occidet sol ejus cum adhuc dies; pudefiet et erubescet, et reliquias eorum gladio dabo coram hostibus eorum" (15:9):
per "elanguescet quae pepererat septem, exspirabit animam suam", significatur ecclesia cui Verbum, et per id omnia vera data sunt, quod peritura; "parere septem" est donari omnibus veris ecclesiae (similiter ac in Libro Primo Samuelis, cap. 2:5. videatur supra, n. 257 7
); per "occidet sol ejus cum adhuc dies" significatur quod periturum bonum ecclesiae, tametsi Verbum ei est, et per id potest in luce esse; "pudefiet et erubescet", nempe sol, significat quia bonum et verum non recipiuntur, sed malum et falsum (ut quoque patet a mox sequente loco apud Esaiam: "reliquias eorum gladio dabo coram hostibus eorum" significat quod omne residuum bonum et verum periturum sit per falsum ex malo; "reliquiae" sunt omne residuum, "gladio dari" est perire per falsa, "hostes" sunt mala.
[20] Apud Esaiam,
"Visitabit Jehovah super exercitum altitudinis in altitudine, et super reges terrae super terra, ... tunc erubescet luna et pudefiet sol" (24:21, 23):
"visitare" significat destruere, quia visitatio praecedit judicium, quando destruuntur illi qui in malis et inde falsis sunt; per "exercitum altitudinis in altitudine" significantur omnia mala quae ex amore sui, per "exercitum" omnia mala, per "reges terrae" falsa omnis generis, et per "terram" significatur ecclesia; inde constare potest quid significatur per "Visitabit Jehovah super exercitum altitudinis in altitudine, et super reges terrae super terra"; quod dicatur "super exercitum altitudinis in altitudine", est quia illi qui in amore sui sunt, in mundo spirituali alta loca petunt: per "tunc erubescet luna et pudefiet Sol" significatur quod non amplius receptio Divini Veri ac Divini Boni; "luna" et "sol" significant verum fidei et bonum amoris, quae dicuntur "erubescere et pudefieri" quando non amplius recipiuntur, sed loco eorum falsum et malum.
[21] Apud Davidem,
Jehovah "qui fecit caelos per intelligentiam suam, ... expandit terram super aquis, ... fecit luminaria magna... solem in dominium in die lunam et stellas in dominium in nocte:... percussit Aegyptum in primogenitis eorum et eduxit Israelem e medio eorum" (Psalms 136:5-11):
qui nihil novit de sensu spirituali Verbi, opinaturus est quod haec nihil aliud involvant quam quae exstant in sensu litterae; sed usque singula involvunt talia quae sunt sapientiae angelicae, quae omnia sunt Divina caelestia et spiritualia; nova creatio seu regeneratio hominum ecclesiae, a quibus ecclesia, per illa describitur: per "caelos" quos per intelligentiam suam fecit, significantur interna hominum ecclesiae, quae una voce spiritualis homo vocantur, ubi intelligentia residet, et ubi caelum illorum est; per "terram" quam super aquis expandit, significatur externum ecclesiae, quod una voce naturalis homo vocatur; hic "expandi super aquis" dicitur, quia ibi sunt vera per quae regeneratur ("aquae" sunt vera): per "luminaria magna, solem, lunam et stellas", significantur bonum amoris, verum ex illo bono, et cognitiones boni et veri; per "solem" bonum amoris, per "lunam" verum ex illo bono, et per "stellas" cognitiones boni et veri; quod sol dicatur factus "in dominium in die", est quia "dies" significat lucem spiritualis hominis, ei enim est illustratio et perceptio ex bono amoris; et quod dicatur quod luna et stellae sint factae "in dominium in nocte", est quia "nox" significat lucem naturalis hominis, hujus enim lux ad lucem spiritualis hominis est comparative sicut lux noctis a luna et stellis ad lucem diei a sole: quia agitur de regeneratione hominum ecclesiae, ideo etiam sequitur, "Percussit Aegyptum in primogenitis eorum, et eduxit Israelem e medio illorum"; per "Aegyptum" enim significatur naturalis homo qualis est a nativitate, quod nempe in meris falsis ex malo; "primogenita ejus" sunt quae primaria; destructio horum, dum regeneratur homo, intelligitur per quod "percussit Aegyptum in primogenitis eorum": per "Israelem" significatur spiritualis homo; et per "educere eum e medio eorum" significatur aperire illum, et sic regenerare; homo enim ecclesiae regeneratur a Domino per dissipationem falsorum ex malis quae in naturali homine, et per aperitionem spiritualis hominis, quod fit a Domino per lucem spiritualem, quae est Divinum Verum.
[22] Similia significantur per haec in Genesi,
"Fecit Deus duo luminaria magna, luminare magnum ad dominandum die, et luminare minus ad dominandum nocte, et stellas" (1:16):
agitur enim in eo capite de nova creatione seu regeneratione hominum ex quibus Ecclesia Antiquissima, quae describitur in sensu litterae per creationem caeli et terrae. Similia etiam significantur per haec apud Jeremiam,
"Sic dixit 8
Dominus Jehovih, dans solem in lucem diei, statuta lunae et stellarum in lucem noctis" (31:35):
per "statuta lunae et stellarum" significantur omnia quae in naturali homine secundum leges ordinis fiunt.
[23] Apud Davidem,
"Laudate Jehovam omnes angeli Ejus, laudate Ipsum omnes exercitus Ejus, laudate Ipsum sol et luna, laudate Ipsum omnes stellae lucis, laudate Ipsum caeli caelorum" ([Ps.] 148:2-4):
per "laudare Jehovam" significatur colere Ipsum; per "angelos" significantur qui in Divinis veris ex bono amoris sunt, quia illi sunt angeli; per "omnes exercitus" significantur bona (et) vera in omni complexu; per "solem et lunam" significatur bonum amoris et verum ex illo bono; per "stellas lucis" significantur cognitiones veri ex bono; per "caelos caelorum" significantur bona et vera tam interna quam externa; quia homo colit Dominum ex illis quae apud se ex Domino sunt, ita ex bonis et veris quae apud illum, homo etiam est homo ex illis, ideo dicitur ad illa, nempe ad solem, lunam et stellas, per quae significantur bona et vera, ut "laudent", hoc est, colant Jehovam; quis non scit quod non sol, luna et stellae laudent, hoc est, colant?
[24] Apud Mosen,
"De Josepho dixit, Benedicta a Jehovah terra ejus, de pretiosis caeli, de rore, de abysso etiam jacente infra, et de pretiosis proventuum solis, et de pretiosis producti mensium" (Deuteronomius 33:13, 14):
haec in Benedictione filiorum Israelis a Mose; et quia per "Josephum" intelliguntur spirituales caelestes, qui sunt qui in regno spirituali supremi sunt, et inde communicant proxime cum illis qui in regno caelesti Domini sunt, per "terram ejus significatur regnum spirituale illud, tum ecclesia quae ex illis; per "pretiosa caeli, rorem et abyssum etiam jacentem infra", significantur spiritualia caelestia in interno et externo homine; per "pretiosa proventuum solis et pretiosa producti mensium" significantur omnia quae procedunt ex caelesti regno et quae procedunt ex spirituali regno Domini, ita bona et vera inde; per "solem" enim significatur bonum amoris in Dominum a Domino, quod bonum est illis qui in caelesti regno Domini sunt; per "proventus ejus" significantur omnia quae inde procedunt; per "producta mensium" significantur omnia quae procedunt ex spirituali regno Domini; "menses" hic significant similia quae 9
luna, nempe vera ex bono, eadem enim vox est utrisque in lingua originali: sed qui non scit aliquid de binis regnis caeli, caelesti et spirituali, et de conjunctione illorum per intermedios, in obscuro erunt de illis quae nunc dicta sunt. (At de regnis illis et de intermediis videantur quae in opere De Caelo et Inferno 20-28, allata sunt.)
[25] Apud Esaiam,
"Ponam pyropum soles tuos, et portas tuas in lapides carbunculi, et omnem finem tuum in lapides desiderii" (54:12):
haec dicta sunt de gentibus extra ecclesiam, a quibus nova ecclesia a Domino instauranda erat; et per "Ponam sicut 10
[26] Apud Hiobum,
"Num laetatus, quod multae facultates mihi, et quod ingentes invenisset manus mea? num vidi lucem quod splenderet, et lunam quod clara ingrederetur? et seduxit se in occulto cor meum, et osculata est manus mea os meum?" (31:25-27):
per haec in sensu spirituali intelligitur quod non ex proprio acquisiverit sibi intelligentiam, et quod non ex illa sibi meritum fecerit et gloriatus sit; nam "Num laetatus quod multae facultates mihi, et quod ingentes invenisset manus mea?" significat num gloriatus sit quod ei intelligentia, et quod ex proprio sibi illam acquisivisset; "facultates" sunt cognitiones boni et veri, per quas intelligentia, et "quod ingentes invenisset, manus mea?" est num ex proprio acquisivisset: "num vidi lucem quod splenderet, et lunam quod clara ingrederetur?" significat num vera spiritualia, quae faciunt intelligentiam ("lux" et "luna" significant vera spiritualia): "et seduxit se in occulto cor meum, et osculata est manus mea os meum?" significat num inde intus gloriatus sim, et num vindicaverim illa mihi.
[27] Apud Matthaeum,
"Ut sitis filii Patris Vestri qui in caelis, qui solem suum exoriri facit super malos et bonos, et pluviam mittit super justos et injustos" (5:45):
agitur ibi de charitate erga proximum, ut patet ab antecedentibus et sequentibus ibi, et in specie de Judaeis, qui pro inimicis habebant gentes, et pro amicis suos; quod illos diligerent aeque ac suos, illustratur a Domino per hanc comparationem: sed quia omnes comparationes in Verbo ex correspondentiis sunt, et inde significant, sicut reliqua quae non comparative dicta sunt, ideo quoque haec comparatio; et per quod "Pater in caelis Solem suum exoriri faciat super malos et bonos, et pluviam mittat super justos et injustos", significatur quod Dominus e caelo aeque influat cum Divino Bono Amoris et cum Divino Vero apud illos qui extra Ecclesiam Judaicam sunt ac apud illos qui intra illam; "sol" etiam ibi significat Bonum Amoris, ac "pluvia" Divinum Verum: "mali" et "injusti" significant in sensu interno illos qui ab Ecclesia Judaica erant, quia illi non receperunt; ac "boni et justi" illos qui extra ecclesiam illam et receperunt: in genere sunt omnes mali et boni ac justi et injusti qui intelliguntur, nam Dominus aeque influit cum bono et vero apud omnes, sed non omnes aeque recipiunt.
[28] Quia "sol" significat Dominum quoad Divinum Amorem, ideo vocatur
"Sol justitiae" (Apud Malachiam, cap. 3:20 [B.A. 4:2]);
ac
"Sol et Scutum" (Apud Davidem, 84:12 [B.A. 11]).
Quia "sol" significat bonum amoris in Dominum apud hominem, inde (per) "ab ortu solis ad occasum ejus" significantur omnes qui in bono amoris in Dominum sunt a primis ad ultimos, "ab ortu solis" a primis, et "ad occasum solis" ad ultimos; ut in sequentibus his locis:
Apud Malachiam,
"Ab ortu solis usque ad occasum magnum nomen meum inter gentes" (1:11);
apud Davidem,
"Ab ortu solis usque ad occasum laudatum nomen Jehovae" (113:3);
apud eundem,
"Deus Deus Jehovah loquitur, et convocabit terram ab ortu solis ad occasum ejus" (50:1);
apud Esaiam,
"Ut cognoscant ab ortu solis et ab occasu quod non praeter Me" (45:6);
apud eundem,
"Timebunt ab occasu solis nomen Jehovae, et ab ortu solis gloriam Ipsius" (59:19);
apud eundem,
"Excitabo a septentrione qui Veniet, et ab ortu solis qui invocabit nomen meum" (41:25):
quod "ab ortu solis ad occasum ejus" significet omnes a primis ad ultimos qui in bono amoris in Dominum sunt, est quia omnes in caelo habitant secundum plagas; illi qui in bono amoris in Dominum sunt ab oriente solis ad occidentem; illi qui in oriente habitant sunt qui in bono amoris claro sunt, et illi qui in occidente qui in bono amoris obscuro; inde est quod per "ab ortu solis ad occasum ejus" significentur omnes a primis ad ultimos qui in bono amoris: quod apud Esaiam dicatur, "Excitabo a septentrione qui veniet et ab ortu solis", significat quod qui extra ecclesiam sunt et qui intra illam; nam "septentrio" significat obscurum veri, ita illos qui extra ecclesiam sunt, quia illi in obscuro quoad vera sunt, ex causa quia non habent Verbum et inde non sciunt aliquid de Domino; et "ortus solis" significat illos qui intra ecclesiam sunt, quia habent Verbum, in quo Dominus semper est praesens, et sic in ortu. (Quod per "orientem" seu "ortum solis", et per "occidentem" seu "occasum solis" intelligatur bonum amoris in claro et bonum amoris in obscuro, videatur in opere De Caelo et Inferno 141, 148-150; et quod per "Septentrionem" verum in obscuro, in eodem capite, n. 148-150; ibi enim agitur De Quatuor Plus in Mundo Spirituali.)
Per "occasum solis" etiam significatur status ecclesiae Cum in ignorantia est, qui status est ejus primus, et per "ortum solis" significatur status ejus cum in luce est. Per "occasum solis" etiam significatur status ecclesiae cum in malis et inde falsis est, et per "ortum solis" cum in bonis et inde veris est.
[29] Primus status ecclesiae cum adhuc in ignorantia est, significatur per incohationem Paschatis in vespera cum occidit sol, secundum haec apud Mosen,
"Sacrificabis Pascha in vespera cum occiderit sol, tempore stato exitus tui ex Aegypto" (Deuteronomius 16:6):
per festum enim "paschatis" significabatur celebratio Domini propter liberationem a damnatione, quae fit per regenerationem, et in supremo sensu recordatio glorificationis Humani Domini, quia inde liberatio (videatur n. 7093, 7867, 9286-9292, 10655); et quia primus status regenerationis est status ignorantiae, ideo incohabatur festum illud "in vespera cum occidit sol": is status etiam significatur per "exitum filiorum Israelis ex Aegypto", nam in Aegypto in statu servo erant, et inde in statu ignorantiae; quare dicitur "in tempore stato exitus ab Aegypto."
[30] Ultimus status ecclesiae, qui est quando ecclesia in falsis et malis est, qui status est ultimus ejus, significatur per "occasum solis" apud Mosen,
"Cum prope esset sol ad occidendum, somnus gravis cecidit super Abramum; et ecce terror et tenebrae magnae ceciderunt super eum;... tandem cum sol occidisset, et tenebrae factae essent, ecce furnus fumi et fax ignis, quae transivit inter frusta illa" ( 11
haec dicta sunt de posteritate Abrami ex Jacobo, seu de gente Israelitica et Judaica; et per "cum esset sol prope ad occidendum", et per "tandem cum sol occidisset", significatur ultimus status ecclesiae apud illam gentem, quod essent in meris falsis et malis; "tenebrae magnae" et "furnus fumi significant falsa ex malo, et "fax ignis" significat tetrum amorem sui, ex quo illis mala et falsa.
[31] Sicut pleraque in Verbo etiam oppositum sensum habent, ita quoque "sol" et "luna", et in eo sensu significat "sol" amorem sui, et "luna" falsa inde. Causa quod per "Solem et lunam" illa significentur, est quia illi qui solum in naturali idea sunt et non in Spirituali, non ultra Naturam cogitant; et inde cum vident a duobus illis luminaribus, seu ab eorum luce et calore, omnia oriri et quasi vivere in tellure, putant ibi esse dominia universi; superius non elevant cogitationes. Haec faciunt omnes illi qui in amore sui sunt et inde in malis et falsis, sunt enim mere naturales et sensuales homines; et mere naturalis et sensualis homo non ultra Naturam cogitat, quod enim non videt et tangit, hoc credit nihil esse. Antiqui, apud quos omnia ecclesiae constabant ex repraesentativis spiritualium in naturalibus, et apud quos ideo "sol" significabat Dominum quoad Divinum Bonum, ac "luna" Ipsum quoad Divinum Verum, et qui ideo in cultu verterunt facies suas ad ortum solis, illi ex iis qui in amore sui fuerunt, et inde mere naturales et sensuales, coeperunt solem et lunam oculis visos colere pro summis diis; et quia solum illi hoc fecerunt seu persuaserunt aliis facere, qui in amore sui et inde in malis et falsis fuerunt, ideo per "solem" significatur amor sui, et per "lunam" falsum inde. Hoc adhuc evidentius constat ex spiritibus in altera vita, qui tales fuerunt in mundo; hi avertunt faciem a Domino, et vertunt illam ad quoddam caliginosum et tenebricosum ibi, quae loco solis et lunae mundi sunt, ex opposito ad Solem et Lunam caeli angelici (de quibus videantur plura in opere De Caelo et Inferno 122, 123). Antiquitus, Cum omnis cultus Divinus repraesentativus fuit, a talibus cultus solis et lunae institutus est; at hodie, cum repraesentativa cessarunt, in orbe Christiano non datur cultus solis et lunae, sed pro illis cultus sui, qui est apud quos amor imperandi praedominatur. Inde nunc patet quid significatur per "solem et lunam" in opposito Sensu.
[32] Quod antiquitus coluerint solem et lunam, manifestum est a gentilibus qui posuerunt illis fana, de quibus in multis historiis. Quod etiam Aegyptii, ac Judaei et Israelitae, constat ex Verbo: quod Aegyptii, apud Jeremiam,
Rex Babelis "veniet et percutiet terram Aegypti, .. et confringet statuas domus solis in terra Aegypti" ( 12
43:11-13):
quod etiam Judaei et Israelitae, apud Ezechielem,
Vidi "facies eorum versus orientem, iidemque incurvabunt se Versus orientem solis" (8:16);
agitur ibi de abominationibus Hierosolymae: in Secundo Libro Regum,
13
Joschiah Rex "abolevit sacerdotes idololatricos... suffientes Baali, soli, lunae et astris, et omni exercitui caelorum:... abolevit insuper equos quos posuerunt reges Jehudae soli ab introitu domus Jehovae et currus solis combussit igne" (23:5, 11):
apud Jeremiam,
"Extrahent ossa regum Jehudae, ossa principum ejus, et ossa sacerdotum ejus, et ossa prophetarum ejus, et ossa habitatorum Hierosolymae..., et expandent ea soli et lunae et omni exercitui caelorum, quae adamaverunt et quibus serviverunt" (8:1, 2);
et praeterea (Jerem.) cap. 44:17-19, 25; Deuteronomius 4:19; 17:3, 5.
[33] Quoniam per "Moabum" in Verbo significantur illi qui in vita falsi sunt ex amore sui, et per cultum eorum cultus sui, ideo cum populus Israeliticus accessit ad cultum populi Moabitici, mandatum est ut capita populi suspenderentur coram sole, de qua re ita apud Mosen,
Filiae Moabi "vocarunt populum ad sacrificia deorum suorum; et comedit populus, et incurvavit se diis 14
earum; imprimis adjunxit se Israel Baalpeori:... quare dixit Jehovah ad Mosen, Sume omnia capita populi, et suspende ea coram sole" (Numeri 25:1-4):
quod "Moabus" significet illos qui in vita falsi sunt ex amore sui, et inde qui adulterant bona ecclesiae, videatur (in Arcanis Caelestibus) (n. 2468, 8315);
[34] inde etiam patet quod "sol" mundi significet amorem sui. Quoniam amor sui mittit hominem in suum proprium et in eo detinet illum, spectat enim se jugiter, et proprium hominis non est nisi quam malum et ex malo est omne falsum, ideo per "aestum solis" significatur adulteratum verum, quod in sua essentia est falsum mali. Hoc per "aestum solis" significatur in sequentibus his locis:In Apocalypsi,
"Quartus angelus effudit phialam suam in solem, et datum est illi aestu adurere homines per ignem" (16:8);
et alibi,
"Non esurient amplius, ... neque cadet super eos sol, neque ullus aestus" (7:16).
Apud Davidem,
"Interdiu sol non percutiet te, aut luna in nocte; Jehovah custodiet te ab omni malo, custodiet animam tuam" (Psalms 121:6, 7):
per "solem" ibi intelligitur amor sui, et per "lunam" falsum inde; quia ex illo amore est omne malum et ex hoc falsum, ideo dicitur quod "Jehovah custodiet te ab omni malo, et custodiet animam tuam"; per "animam" significatur vita veri.
[35] Apud Matthaeum,
"Alia" semina "ceciderunt super petrosa, ubi non habebant humum multam... et cum sol exortus est, exusta sunt, et propterea quia non habebant radicem, exaruerunt" (13:5, 6; Marcus 4:5, 6):
per "semina" significantur vera ex Verbo, seu quae homo recipit a Domino, nam dicitur postea quod "Filius hominis" sit qui seminat: per "petrosa" significatur fides historica, quae fides est fides alterius in se; credit enim verum esse, non quod videat id in se, sed quia alter, cui fidit, ita dixit: per "humum" significatur bonum spirituale, quia hoc recipit vera sicut humus semina: per "solis exortum" significatur amor sui, et per "exuri" et "exarescere" significatur adulterari et perire: inde patet quid per illa Domini verba in serie significatur, nempe quod vera ab infantia implantata ex Verbo seu ex praedicatione, cum homo incipit ex se cogitare, per concupiscentias ex amore sui adulterentur ac pereant. Sunt quidem omnia, quae in Verbo sunt, vera; sed adulterantur per ideas cogitationis de illis et per applicationes; unde vera apud illos non sunt vera nisi quoad solam enuntiationem eorum. Causa quod ita, est quia omnis vita veri est ex bono spirituali, et bonum spirituale residet in mente superiore seu interiore, quae vocatur mens spiritualis; haec mens non aperiri potest apud illos qui in amore sui sunt, nam in singulis spectant ad se; si elevant oculos suos ad caelum, usque tamen cogitatio spiritus eorum haeret in intuitione sui, et inde ex igne gloriae suae excitat sensualia externa et corporea, quae a pueritia edocta sunt, ad imitandum affectiones quales sunt spirituali homini.
[36] Legitur apud Jonam quod "exaresceret kikajon qui ascendet super illum, et quod percuteret sol caput ejus ut aegre haberet"; haec quia non intelliguntur absque explicatione per sensum internum, paucis explicanda sunt: de his ita legitur apud Jonam,
"Jehovah... praeparavit kikajonem, qui ascendit super Jonam, ut esset umbra super capite ejus, ad avertendum malum illius, et Jona laetatus super kikajone...; et praeparavit Deus vermem cum ascenderet aurora die postero, qui percussit kikajonem ut exaresceret: insuper factum est cum oriretur sol, ut praepararet Deus ventum orientalem exsiccantem, et percuteret sol caput Jonae, et aegrehaberet; unde petiit animae suae mori... Tunc dixit Deus ad Jonam, Num juste exarsit tibi super kikajone? Dixit, Juste exarsit mihi usque ad mortem. Dixit Jehovah, Tu clementia usus es super kikajone, in quo non laborasti; non perfectum fecisti, quia filius 15
noctis factus es, et filius 16
noctis perit. Ego non clementia utar super Ninive, urbe magna, in qua sunt plures quam duodecim 17
myriades hominum?" ( 18
Describitur per haec genius gentis Judaicae, quod sint in amore sui et inde in falsis; Jonas erat ex illa gente, quare etiam missus est ad Niniven; apud gentem enim Judaicam erat Verbum, unde docere potuerunt illos qui extra ecclesiam erant, quae gentes vocantur; hae per "Niniven" significantur. Quia gens Judaica erat prae aliis in amore sui et in falsis ex illo amore, inde non aliis bene voluerunt quam sibi ipsis, non autem gentibus, sed has oderunt; et quia talis fuit illa gens et Jonas repraesentavit illam, ideo exarsit illi valde quod Jehovah pepercerit Ninive; nam dicitur,
"Aegre fuit Jonae aegritudine magna, ita ut exarserit illi", et ex aegritudine irae dixerit, "Sume Jehovah animam meam a me, quia bona mors mea prae vita mea" vers. 1, 3):
hoc malum apud illam gentem significatur per "kikajonem", quem vermis percussit ut exaresceret: per "solem qui percuteret caput Jonae" significatur amor sui qui fuit illi genti, et per "ventum orientalem exsiccantem" falsum inde, et per "vermem" qui percussit kikajonem significatur destructio mali et inde falsi: quod hoc per "kikajonem" significetur, patet ex his in descriptione illa, quod Jonas primum "laetatus sit super kikajonem", et postquam kikajon "percussus esset a verme et exaruisset", quod "exarserit illi usque ad mortem", et ex eo quod dicatur quod "clementia usus esset super kikajone." Quod gens Judaica, quia in tali amore et in tali inde falso, damnationi obnoxia sit, intelligitur per haec verba ad Jonam "Non perfectum fecisti, quia filius 19
noctis factus es, et filius 20
noctis perit." (Qualis gens Judaica fuerat, videatur in Doctrina Novae Hierosolymae, n. 248.)
[37] Quod amor sui hic et in praecedentibus locis significetur, est quia per "solem" In genuino spirituali sensu significatur amor in Dominum, et huic amori oppositus est amor sui; etiam Amor Divinus Domini, qui est praesens apud unumquemvis, vertitur in amorem sui apud malos, nam omne influens in subjecto recipiente vertitur in conveniens suae naturae; prout calor solis purus in graveolentia in subjectis talis naturae, et lux solis pura in tetros colores in objectis talis receptionis: inde est quod per "solem qui percussit caput Jonae" significetur amor sui, nempe in illo; et quoque apud Matthaeum, per "solem exortum", quo exusta sunt semina super petrosis.
[38] In Apocalypsi,
"Civitas" Nova Hierosolyma "non opus habet sole et luna, ut luceant in illa, gloria enim Dei illustrat illam, et lucerna ejus Agnus" (21:23; 22:5):
per "solem" ibi, quo non opus habebit civitas Nova Hierosolyma, significatur amor naturalis, qui in se spectatus est amor sui et mundi; et per "lunam" significatur lumen naturale, nam lumen naturale in se spectatum est ex amore naturali, et quale luminis secundum quale amoris: at amor spiritualis et lux spiritualis significatur per quod "gloria Dei illustrabit illam, et lucerna ejus Agnus."
[39] Quod talis sensus illorum verborum sit, patet manifeste ex his apud Esaiam,
"Non erit tibi sol amplius in lucem interdiu, et in splendorem luna non lucebit tibi, sed erit tibi Jehovah in lucem aeternitatis, et Deus tuus in decus tuum: non occidet amplius Sol tuus, et Luna tua non colligetur, quia Jehovah erit tibi in lucem aeternitatis, et implebuntur dies luctus tui" (60:19, 20):
similia per "solem et lunam in priori loco 21
significantur quae supra in Apocalypsi, nempe per "solem" amor mere naturalis, et per "lunam" lumen naturale inde: at per "Solem et Lunam" in posteriori loco intelligitur Sol et Luna caeli angelici, et per "Solem" illum significatur Divinus Amor Domini, et per "Lunam" Divinum Verum, ut supra explicatum est; nam primum dicitur, "Non erit tibi amplius sol in lucem interdiu, et in splendorem luna non lucebit tibi"; et postea dicitur, "Non occidet amplius Sol tuus, et Luna tua non colligetur." Ex his nunc patet quid "sol" et "luna" significant in utroque sensu.
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